Professor and Chair, French & Francophone Studies
Diane Kelley’s expertise is in early modern 17th- and 18th- century French culture and literature. Her dissertation analyzed fiction by women writers at the turn of the 18th century, including Mme de Lafayette, Catherine Bernard, and Mme de Tencin. She has also published on Mme de Graffigny, Voltaire, and Diderot in journals such as Dalhousie French Studies and New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century. Her most recent project on early modern French interior design and museum culture is under review. Other interests include the book trade of the 18th century, correspondences of the time, material culture and creative approaches to teaching language, history, and literature, including Reacting to the Past pedagogy.