Vanessa Quince, French
What is your department and degree?
PhD Student in Political Science at the University of Washington
What do you focus on in your research/studies?
International Relations, Political Economy and Political Methodology
How are your research/studies related to Europe?
I want to examine the role of race in how France conducts trade with their former colonies in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific. I am interested in bringing discussions about race back into international political economy. France has had many overseas territories in different regions of the world and each of which have different racial compositions, I want to investigate whether or not race played a factor in the institutions that were developed but most importantly how those institutions still have an effect on how trade is conducted today.
How has the FLAS impacted your research/studies and career goals (or, for future fellows, what are you most looking forward to)?
I already speak Haitian-Creole which would allow me to do work in the some French territories in the Caribbean if need be but learning French would allow me to expand the scope of my research. Learning French would help me to read important documents about trade between France and their former territories. Because of the scope of the French imperial power, not only would I be able to do work in France but also in former French colonies where French is the official language.
What career path do you hope to pursue?
I enjoy doing research (a lot) so I want to pursue a career where I can answer questions that are of interest to me. My long term goal is to be a professor at a research institution where I can continue to interrogate the role of race in contemporary international relations. Along with research, I want to help students of color learn more about places and people that they can relate to in Introductory International Relations courses. I would like to teach a Critical International Relations course that includes mainstream scholarship but also incorporate critical work such as Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory and other forms of post-colonial work.