Dana Lindaman

Dana Lindaman
Professional Title
Department Head and Associate Professor of French Studies

Ph. D. – Harvard University
M.A.  – Columbia University
B.A. – University of Minnesota

Professor Lindaman came to UMD in 2010 to develop and teach courses related to French studies. Together with Professor Kovacovic, he revived the French major at UMD and has helped grow the program into a dynamic major supporting student interest in French from across the UMD campus.

Dana’s research interests include the national myths that serve as landmarks of modern French identity, especially as they are inculcated in the republican school curriculum since the French Third Republic. His book on this topic, Becoming French – Geographies of French Identity 1871-1914 (NUP, 2016), deals with the importance of geographic thought to the formation of French identity during this period. His current research interest includes geo-mapping French novels, which involves working with faculty in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to create algorithms that can map French novels onto historical maps of Paris. Another area of collaboration with UMD faculty, Les Jardins de Paris, focuses on a collection of poems and songs on Paris parks and gardens.

Dana is also a founding and active member of the Mobile Languages Learning Group at UMD, which is comprised of faculty and students from Foreign Languages, Computer Science and Graphic Design who collectively produce mobile apps for language learners.

Courses Taught

FR 1101 and 1102: Beginning French
FR 1201 and 1202: Intermediate French
FR 2301: Advanced French
FR 2315: French Cinema
FR 3302: Advanced French Composition and Conversation
FR 3310: Survey: Essays, Short Stories, Poetry in the French Language
FR 3325: French Cuisine
FR 4018: Francophone Literatures and Cultures
FR 4422: 20th-century French Novel
FR 4492: 19th-century French Novel

Publications

 Books

  • Becoming French: Mapping the Geographies of French Identity, 1871-1914, Evanston: Northwestern University Press (2016)
  • History Lessons (co-authored), New York: The New Press (2004)

Articles

  • “Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Application Development Projects within Reach for Language Teachers,” IALLT, 2015, co-authored with Dan Nolan.
  • “Une Saison en Enfer et Jules Verne.” Parade Sauvage n° 23, 2012.

 Contributions to the field

  • “A Resurgence.” Special Issue; Le français a-t-il un avenir ?, French Review, Vol. 86, No. 6, May 2013.
  • Book Review in Nineteenth-Century French Studies, 41, nos 1 & 2, Fall-Winter 2012-2013 (178-180): Cornulier, Benoît de. De la métrique à l’interprétation : Essais sur Rimbaud. Paris: Gallimard (Coll. “Etudes Rimbaldiennes”), 2009. Pp. 560. ISBN 978-2-8124-0086-5.

Awards & Honors

  • Imagine Grant (2011-13)
  • Office of Information Technology: Faculty Fellowship Program (2012-2013)
  • Small Seed Research Grant (2012, 2013)
  • GPS Alliance International Travel Grant (2012)
  • Chancellor's Strategic Initiative (2012)
  • Chancellor's Faculty Small Grant (2011, 2015)
  • CLA Research Grant (2010)

Dana Lindaman in Morocco

See Dana's profile on The Human Fabric of Duluth