From left to right: Claudia Desblaches, Malena Morling, Matthieu Kolb after a meeting with Amal Jouffe-El-Amrani, Director of the Rennes 2 International Office
Following a visit this week from UNCW Professor Malena Morling, Rennes 2 University has finalized a mobility agreement permitting for student exchanges between both universities. The agreement will allow students to embark on a traditional exchange program for 1 to 2 semesters of either campus and will comprise Rennes 2 students from the Faculty of Literature and students from the UNCW Creative Writing Department. Both universities will see the exchanges starting in the 2024-2025 academic year.
This agreement represents a new development in the cooperative relationship which has been ongoing since 2020/ 2021, when Professor Morling first reached out to Rennes 2 faculty members to see if they would be interested in developing a common teaching project in which students connected online to work on the translation of poetry. Undergraduate and graduate students of UNCW’s creative writing program participated with literature and language students of Rennes 2. Since then, she has been working with Rennes 2’s Claudia Desblaches, Associate Professor of American literature, Matthieu Kolb, Director of the Language Center and the Direction d'Appui à la Pédagogie - Pedagogy Support Division (DAP) to make this innovative program available to more students each year.
Last year, Rennes 2 University welcomed a group of 15 UNCW students and faculty from the Department of Creative Writing and the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
The 10-day trip provided the students with several moments to to exchange with our academic community and learn more about the specificities of the translation of poetry and other texts, Before arriving, the students also participated in virtual collaboration with Rennes students, organized by the DAP as part of the “internationalization at home” program.
With a view to further expanding this collaboration, Ms. Morling has shared her interest in the International Chairs program of Rennes 2 University, which would provide her the opportunity to meet more colleagues on our campus and in varied fields, particularly in film and performing arts (which may be included in the exchange agreement over time).
To learn more about Ms. Malena Morling, please see her website here.
More information about the Department of Creative Writing at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington is available here.
