Meet the Faculty

AlainM. Gabon

Alain M. Gabon

Associate Professor of French


Degrees Held

M.A., Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Ph.D., University of Iowa

Office Location: 204 Birdsong Hall, Bray Village
Phone: 757-455-3395
Email: agabon@vwu.edu
Department/s:
- Foreign Languages and Literatures

Alain Gabon is an associate professor of French at Virginian Wesleyan College. He was born in Dijon, France and received his bachelor’s degree in English and American literature and civilization from University of Dijon- Burgundy. After teaching in London, he earned a master’s in French studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a doctorate in French studies and film at University of Iowa.

Dr. Gabon specializes in French language, history and culture. His courses, publications and presentations cover literature, religion, politics and film. He was selected to participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities summer research seminar in Paris in 2012. The five-week seminar for university professors and scholars explored four critical periods of crisis in French History and how they have shaped French identity and current debates: WWI; WWII, the Vichy Regime and the German occupation; Communist crimes; and the decolonization period and the Algerian War. Dr. Gabon also received a 2011 Virginia Wesleyan College Summer Faculty Development Grant for the research project, "Is There a French Islam?"

He has published many other scholarly articles and has travelled extensively giving presentations. During his free time, Dr. Gabon enjoys watching films and travelling back to his childhood home and other destinations.  

  • "Le Débat français sur les voiles islamiques intégraux, ou comment la République pervertit la laïcité." Forthcoming in 2014 in SITES.  Contemporary French and Francophone Studies.
  • “Subway”.  New vwu_directory of World Cinema.  Volume: France.  Edited by Tim Palmer (University of North Carolina Wilmington) and Charlie Michael (University of Wisconsin-Madison).   Intellect Press, 2012.
  • “La Femme Nikita”.  New vwu_directory of World Cinema.  Volume: France.  Edited by Tim Palmer (University of North Carolina Wilmington) and Charlie Michael (University of Wisconsin-Madison).  Intellect Press, 2012.
  • "La loi anti-burqa  du 12 octobre 2010 : retour sur cinq contre-vérités", Saphir News, Sept. 6, 2011. 
  • “The Transformation of French Identity in Mathieu Kassovitz’ films Métisse and La Haine.”  Transnational Spaces and Identities in the Francophone World.  Edited by David Troyansky, Patricia Lorcin, and Hafid Gafaiti.  University of Nebraska Press, 2009:  115-146.
  • "On the Use of the Word 'Terrorism' in Western Media and Government" Les Cahiers de l’Islam, November 2013
  • "Is Islamophobia Losing Ground in France?" Saphir News,  November 2013
  • "When Governmental Laws Against Religious Expression Lead to Violence" Les Cahiers de l’Islam, October 2013
  • "The Goals and Strategies of the Campaigns against French Muslims," Saphir News, August 2013
  • "France's High Council on Integration:  Laïcité against Religious Freedom" Saphir News,  August 2013
  • "Egypt:  The 5 Reasons of the Coup", Saphir News, August 2013
  • "Egypt:  Media, Government, and Genocide," Saphir News , August 2013