Contact Info
Location
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
E malewis@owu.edu
Education
B.B.A., University of Notre Dame
M.A., University of Minnesota
Ph.D., Yale University
About
Mary Anne Lewis Cusato earned her doctoral degree from the Yale University Department of French in 2013 and has worked at Ohio Wesleyan University ever since. She was promoted and granted tenure in 2019 and awarded the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Teaching Award in 2020. Dr. Lewis Cusato teaches French language at all levels, as well as courses on the French-speaking world outside of France, with a particular emphasis on francophone North Africa. She publishes regularly, and her work has appeared in Contemporary French & Francophone Studies: SITES, Expressions maghrébines, The Journal of North African Studies, The Chronicle: Vitae, The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, and the edited volume entitled The Limits of Cosmopolitanism: Globalization and Its Discontents in Contemporary Literature.
Dr. Lewis Cusato regularly teaches introductory language & culture courses as well as the following upper level courses:
In addition to teaching, Dr. Lewis Cusato has worked closely with many students through independent study projects on such topics as African film and criticism, the social and cultural impact of local markets in French life, and cultural representations of terrorism in France. Dr. Lewis Cusato regularly directs departmental honors thesis projects and supports advanced student work through grant development and experiential learning, research, and travel experiences. She has traveled with students to the French-speaking Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, the African Film Festival held in New York City, and to Paris, Marseille, and Lourmarin thanks to Ohio Wesleyan University's "Theory-to-Practice" (TPG) grants. TPG and NEH grants have also facilitated her travel and research in Bordeaux, Marrakech, and Essaouira, as well as to the NEH Institute on Contemporary Cultural Production in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, held at Oregon State University during the summer of 2014.
Furthermore, Dr. Lewis Cusato is a co-founder and co-director of OWU's Global Studies Institute and the Palmer Global Scholars Program and is highly enthusiastic about efforts to internationalize OWU's curriculum and student experiences.
Finally, Dr. Lewis Cusato works extensively with both faculty and students to connect coursework with the guided and well-informed pursuit of meaningful work, especially through training students and faculty alike to emphasize and articulate transferable skills.
Areas of Interest/Expertise
Francophone literature, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, postcolonial theory, North Africa, Maghrebi literature and culture, culture industry
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
“The Maghreb’s New Publishing House: les éditions barzakh and the Stakes of Localized Publishing,” Special issue of Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, SITES, “The Contemporary Roman Maghrébin: Aesthetics, Politics, Production 2000-2015,” 20:1 (2016): 85-93.
“Between francophonie and world literature in French: Tahar Ben Jelloun’s evolving authority,” Special issue of The Journal of North African Studies, “Maghrebi Artistic and Literary Expressions in the 21st Century,” 21:2 (2016): 301-309.
“From Tahar Djaout’s 'No' to Mustapha Benfodil’s 'Enough!':
Two Moments of Revolutionary Aesthetics in Contemporary Algerian Literature and Cultural Activism” Special issue of Expressions maghrébines, “Tahar Djaout, 25 ans après,” 17:1 (2018) (forthcoming)
Chapters
"Alien-nation and the Algerian Harraga: The Limits of Nation-Building and Cosmopolitanism as Interpretive Models for the Clandestine Immigrant." Cosmopolitanism, Ltd. Edited by Alexander Stevic and Philip Tsang. Routledge Press (2018)
General Interest
“The Worker and the Critic,” The Chronicle of Higher Education: Vitae (December 2017) (under review)
“Teaching Statement as Self-Portrait,” The Chronicle of Higher Education: Vitae (October 2014), https://chroniclevitae.com/news/734-teaching-statement-as-self-portrait
“ ‘This,’ I told myself, “will be the year of drafts.’ ” Gown to Town: The Official Yale Graduate Career Services News Column (February 2014), https://gown2town.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/this-i-told-myself-will-be-the-year-of-drafts/
Book Reviews
Chérif, Mustapha. Rencontre avec le pape: L’Islam et le dialogue interreligieux. The Journal of North African Studies 21:1 (2016): 148-151.
Selected Fellowships, Grants & Awards