Dr. Yannick Viers

Yannick Viers, Lecturer IV in French and longtime co-ordinator of French 235, retired from the department and University in July 2021.  As the prime mover behind this foundational course for the French program, Yannick touched the lives of thousands of students and inspired them to pursue their study of French through to the minor and major and beyond.  A native of France, Yannick studied British literature and culture at the University of Paris and came to the United States in 1976.  She earned her PhD from the University of Michigan in 1985 with a dissertation on play in Baudelaire’s poetic and critical writing under the direction of Professor Ross Chambers.  She held posts at Wayne State University and DePaul University before joining the University of Michigan faculty in 1995.  This was a time when the department was reviewing and modernizing its curriculum to reflect changes in the field of French studies. Yannick soon took on coordinating responsibilities for the new 235 and built a curriculum focusing on cultural studies and contemporary issues in France and the francophone world.  Over the twenty-five years that she held this post, she continued to update the curriculum, introducing new topics such as multiculturalism, the European Union, gender identities, transatlantic relations, immigration, and the like.  When students had taken 235, they were well prepared to go abroad with a solid understanding of contemporary concerns and their histories.