Sophia Khadraoui-Fortune, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Pronouns: She/Her/Elle
skfortune@callutheran.edu
(805) 492-3434
Swenson 213
Office Hours: Tuesdays 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:00pm-3:00pm
About
I am a scholar of 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century French and Francophone studies, with research interests in postcolonial history, visual culture, gender, trauma, and collective memory. My research examines how France’s colonial and imperial histories are remembered, represented, and contested in public spaces, particularly through monuments, memorials, and public art. I am especially interested in how minoritized groups use commemorative practices to challenge official historical narratives, bring marginalized or overlooked histories into public view, and offer alternative ways of remembering traumatic pasts.
In my teaching, I challenge students to examine how history, culture, and power shape individual and collective identities. I design courses that help students connect these intersections to contemporary social issues, including France and Its Ghosts, Theater of Identities, and Crime, Sex, and Social Control. I also lead faculty-led travel courses in continental France, including Paris: The Making of a City, and in the French Caribbean, including History and Identity in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Through the U.S. Department of Education-funded ALLICE grant (2023–2026), I have contributed to developing French for the Professions, a professionalization course, and expanding opportunities for students to connect language learning with international and intercultural experiences.
I hold a Ph.D. and an M.A. from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. from the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, France.
Education
Ph.D. in French Studies, The Pennsylvania State University | 2014
M.A. in French Studies, The Pennsylvania State University | 2009
M.A. in North American Civilization and Postcolonial Literatures, Université La Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, France | 2005
Expertise
My work brings together Francophone studies, postcolonial history, visual culture, gender and trauma studies, and literary theory. My interdisciplinary research spans the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and draws on public art, art history, and theories of collective memory to examine how nations and communities construct and negotiate narratives of the past.
I explore how public commemorative practices shape collective understandings of traumatic histories, mediating and sometimes challenging official, state-sanctioned narratives. I also examine how marginalized or proscribed memories emerge alongside, or in tension with, dominant forms of remembrance, raising questions about who has the authority to shape collective memory and whose histories receive public recognition.
Khadraoui-Fortune, Sophia. “Her Body, Their Freedom: The Black Woman and the Performance of National Virtue in France’s Abolition Landscape.” Suite Française, vol. 8, 2025, pp. 217-247.
Khadraoui-Fortune, Sophia. “General Alexandre Dumas: A Century-Long Tale of Memorials.” Contemporary French Civilization, vol. 50.4, 2025, pp. 389-409.
Khadraoui-Fortune, Sophia. “Solitude, Monument Prothétique.” Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, vol. 27. 3, 2023, pp. 417-425.
Khadraoui-Fortune, Sophia. “The Abolition of Slavery.” in Postcolonial Realms of Memory, book edited by Étienne Achille, Charles Forsdick, and Lydie Moudileno, University of Liverpool Press, 2020, pp. 195-203.
Title: Advancing Language Learning and Internationalization through Curriculum Enhancement (ALLICE)
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education (UISFL Program)
Amount Awarded: $278,709
Co-Directors: Dr. Sophia Khadraoui-Fortune, Dr. Rafaela Fiore-Urízar (PI), and Dr. Ryan Medders.
Achievements
Expanded Student Access to
- Faculty-Led Programs Abroad
- Expanded travel course offerings in the French Caribbean (Martinique and Guadeloupe) and Puerto Rico
- Awarded student scholarships to ensure equitable participation in international experiences
- Funded faculty development and training through a new faculty-led program workshop in Costa Rica
- Professional Development
- Supported the development of global and career-oriented courses including French for the Professions
- Provided free AVANT language proficiency testing and certification for French and Spanish majors and students in the Bilingual Authorization program
- Funded equipment to ensure equitable access to testing
- International Studies and Language Learning
- Funded and organized outreach events with high schools and community colleges to strengthen recruitment pipelines
- Enhanced community engagement through Spanish-language media initiatives and collaborative campus projects, including El Eco
- Supported experiential learning opportunities in French and Spanish through cultural field experiences, including visits to museums, restaurants, and culinary programs