Anais Cera

Bonjour à toutes et à tous !

I am from Lyon, where I was born and raised, cradled by its culture. From events, to food, to ancient traditions, Lyon has a lot to offer, for example, the most popular event of the year is La Fête des Lumières, which we celebrate on December 8 by lighting colorful candles on our windowsills to give thanks to Mother Mary who, according to local beliefs, helped the city be cured of the plague. Even though this event originally is a religious one, people have grown fond of this tradition and participate each year, contributing to the enchanting atmosphere of this celebration.

Lyon is also the capital of gastronomy, thanks to its numerous bouchons where you may enjoy some rosette for the apéritif, then some saucisson brioché (my personal favorite), continue with some quenelles de brochet, and finally treat yourself to a tartelette à la praline for dessert. 

Up to this point in my academic career, I have completed a B.A. and a master's degree in English studies at the Université Lyon 2. During my master's, I got introduced to research and studied US history, US literature and British literature. 

Eventually, I aim to pursue a PhD when I get back home, but I am still hesitant regarding the field I want to specialize in. I would like to either research some of the key moments of US history from a bottom-up approach - focus on minorities during the war of Independence for example, or the Civil War - or work on US post-colonial or diaspora literature. I would love to see how research is conducted in the US, and I hope this year at UVA will help me define what I want to work on for my PhD. 

In my free time, I enjoy reading, and on some occasions, I like to go to the museum, sing karaoke, and do escape rooms. (In France, I have done more than 15, and my team and I have never known defeat !)

I will be teaching FREN 2010 this year, and I believe we will do an amazing job learning together. See you in class !