Welcome new affiliate faculty — Maya Smith

Maya Angela Smith, an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian Studies, focuses on the intersection of racial and linguistic identity formations among marginalized groups in the African diaspora, particularly in the francophone world. She also researches how Blackness is constructed in francophone regions as well as how French studies can diversify and decolonize the curricula. Maya has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellowship and the Modern Language Association’s French and Francophone Studies book award for Senegal Abroad. Future work on the Senegalese diaspora could take her to Montreal. She is currently the Interim Chair for the African Studies Program, 2021-2022.