Sophie Adamson, assistant professor of French, was presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award earlier this year by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences at Elon University.
The award recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies the Elon teacher-scholar – outstanding in the classroom, current in the discipline, and committed to the intellectual development of students.
The selection committee looked for demonstrated classroom excellence in the classroom for the past three years. Equally important were intangible factors, such as inspiring students in the discipline, embracing ways to engage students in active learning, being available to students outside the classroom, being an excellent academic adviser, and having a willingness to teach where needed.
Foreign language colleagues praise Adamson for the connections she forges with students and her eagerness to reach beyond her own research to show interest in what others do.
Dr. Adamson joined the Elon faculty in 2005 after completing her doctorate in French literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves as the French section head for the Department of Foreign Languages and was a faculty researcher in 2008-2009 for the Elon Teaching and Learning Partnership, sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.
Her research focuses on contemporary French literature and identity and the study of social criticism through humor in literature, media and film. Adamson’s recently published book, Ethics, Politics and Poetics in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Harrouda, La Réclusion solitaire and L’Ange aveugle, explores three works by the prominent French author and newspaper columnist, and is based upon her doctoral research.