My research compares education reform in the United States, Canada, and France. I’m particularly in interested in the interaction between national reform policies and discourses and local initiatives – as I have been finding, there is a great deal of international and intranational specificity within the general thrust of market-based reform. The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship is aiding my investigation by allowing me to take coursework that gives me a comparative view of global economic and political phenomena that are nevertheless nuanced in the Canadian context. English-language learning, welfare policy, and nationalist discourses are just some of the broader trends that inform my more specific work into education.
In addition, FLAS is giving me flexibility to study French language, which is useful in two ways: first, I am reading French-language scholarly literature produced by both Canadian and French academics that will allow me to get a fuller picture of my area of study. Second, I am increasing my language skills in a way that will allow me to most effectively communicate with Québecois and French colleagues in the future. I plan to pursue independent studies in the winter and spring quarters during which I’ll meet one-on-one with French department faculty to read both classic social science works and contemporary authors.
Chris Lizotte is a Masters student in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington. He was awarded a FLAS Fellowship for 2010-11. His work centers on citizenship and neoliberal governance with a focus on public education reform. He is particularly interested in the way in which governance at national and international scales interacts with local initiatives in carrying out reform.
The Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship are provided by funding from the Center’s Title VI grant, U.S. Department of Education, Office of International Education Programs Service.
