Laura Jensen

Academic Year: 
2015-16
Direction: 
From Yale
Exchange Partners: 
Sciences Po
Research Interest: 
Race and Universalism in Contemporary France: Marie NDiaye and Bessora

Laura Jensen is a fifth year PhD student in the Department of French at Yale where research is focused on contemporary French and Francophone literature. As a 2015/16 Fox Fellow at Sciences Po, she will be pursuing research related to her dissertation, “Writing Race and Universalism in Contemporary France: Marie NDiaye and Bessora.” This project explores the formation of race and gender identities amongst writers of color in postcolonial France. She is interested in the ways that universalist philosophies shape the discourse on race in both France and its former colonies, and set Fracophone and American conceptions of identity apart. Laura holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and has completed an MA and MPhil at Yale.