Personal Statement French Studies

Dear Sir, Dear Madam, I am writing in application for a place in your graduate program, namely the Ph.D. in French Studies with a concentration in Language and Identity, to start in the fall of 2006. I am currently completing my Master 1 at the Sorbonne University (Paris III), having also acquired my B.A. (Licence) in that institution. My Bachelors and my current Masters at the Sorbonne primarily consist of the study of French literature and dramaturgical texts from the 16th up until the present day. I have had the opportunity to study in depth classic authors such as Moliere, Racine or Corneille. I have been especially marked by the latter author in his tragedy “Le Cid”. My education has also included the works of Rousseau, Beaumarchais, Montesquieu, Hugo, Zola Chateaubriand, Apollinaire, Aragon and other 18th to 20th Century writers. Many of the ideas advanced by these 18th Century writers went on to play a tremendous role in shaping France and Europe via their influence on the revolutionaries of 1789. Hugo and Zola also influenced their generation by exposing societal injustice in their works, most notably in “Germinal“and “Les Miserables”. Throughout my high school and university education I have studied foreign languages such as French and English. I have always had a particular passion for France (where I have lived for several years) and French culture and language. I was admitted to the Perm State University in order to learn French. In order to broaden my knowledge I enthusiastically took up the opportunity to move to France, where I have spent most of the last five years of my life, working and studying at the same time. When I arrived in France, I worked as an au pair (alongside my studies), as well as for a tour operator. I have also taught French to both teenagers and adults while in Russia, and Russian and French whilst in France. These experiences have greatly aided me in developing my teaching and communication