"Where danger grows, there too grows what saves," wrote Hölderlin about the existential challenges posed by technological development. This motto reflects a fundamental tension of our time—between threats and possibilities—which also shapes my research trajectory. Complementing this, I draw on a quote from the Innu poet Rita Mestokosho: "The second path is invisible. It is illuminated by life. One can reach it through the strength of one’s Mistapéo... When the two paths join, then the Innu will find themselves again" (Rita Mestokosho, How I See Life, Grandmother, 2010, p. 30). 

These two voices—one rooted in Western philosophical reflection, the other in Indigenous spiritual knowledge—point to the possibility of bridging analytical reasoning and lived experience. They have served as guiding principles in my scholarly work, which consistently seeks to illuminate how marginalized communities can reclaim agency and visibility within political and cultural systems.

My research has developed along four principal lines of inquiry, all concerned with inclusion, visibility, and resistance to hegemonic structures.

The first focus emerged after my PhD in political science and centered on the development of alternative participatory tools—such as citizen initiatives and local referendums—that can complement representative democracy and rebalance power between political elites and citizens. Through fieldwork in France and Germany, my dissertation demonstrated how semi-direct democratic mechanisms help surface issues that might otherwise remain invisible in national debates. This research later evolved into a discourse analysis of populist movements, many of which appropriate such democratic tools to challenge established political institutions from the margins.

My second research stream shifted toward Francophone Indigenous literatures in Québec. Since the early 2010s, this literary field has emerged as a powerful vehicle for a new generation of writers who not only represent their cultures but also write against the historical erasures imposed by colonial systems. Analyzing this literature through a cultural-political lens, I explore how writing operates as a form of resistance and identity reclamation.

The third focus has involved postcolonial and postmodern theories, particularly within the Francophone intellectual tradition. Achille Mbembe’s work has been especially influential, as it links French Theory with discourses on globalization and the enduring legacies of colonialism. His conceptualizations of power, coloniality, and the politics of the present have offered critical tools for understanding how structural asymmetries are reproduced—and resisted—in the contemporary world.

Finally, my fourth area of research investigates the institutional ecology of Francophone literature outside France. I study how writers from peripheral or postcolonial contexts navigate systems such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, literary prize networks, and global publishing circuits. My focus here is on how cultural representation and institutional legitimacy intersect and shape literary visibility.

These four areas are united by a commitment to interrogating power structures, amplifying silenced voices, and analyzing the mechanisms through which exclusion is both maintained and contested. By combining political theory, literary analysis, and postcolonial perspectives, my work aims to contribute to a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of culture, democracy, and resistance in the contemporary world.

Pedagogical ambassador for 2018

Editor in Chief of The Nordic Journal of Francophone Studies - franorfon.org

Head of the Centre for Canadian Studies

For a videopresentation 

Presentation av en av mina kurser  (Presentation of one of my courses)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCd0oAJlxyIor a presentation on how to select sources in an adapted context

Affiliated researcher vid Rabat University (Langues, Littératures, Arts et Culture)