Dr Claire MacLeod Peters, Prince's Teaching Institute talk

Dr Claire MacLeod Peters is continuing her work with the Prince’s Teaching Institute Charity, delivering interactive lectures in French to inspire secondary school French teachers to engage with their subject in ways that reflect latest research findings.

On 30 April 2016 Claire was invited to London to give her second talk for the Prince’s Teaching Institute to inspire teachers of French. This charity does vital work offering teachers the chance to hear someone from industry or academia talk about their latest research. It is a rare opportunity for teachers to connect or reconnect with new areas research and teaching, under expert guidance.

In the past, Claire has spoken to teachers about memories of the Algerian War and 17 October 1961, bringing in elements of her research in an accessible way. The response has already begun to generate a positive impact – teachers have fed back to say that they have been obtaining some of the materials mentioned, either for use in the classroom, or for their own further professional and personal development.

In London, Claire spoke about French Caribbean Identity through literature, taking the group of native and non-native speakers through concepts such as Négritude, Antillanité and Créolité, and encouraging them to think about the role of literature in response to the history and trauma of slavery and colonialism. Native and non-native speakers alike took part in a lively discussion about the relationship of the past to the present and the difficult question of national identities. Claire structured her talk to include links to Dr Louise Hardwick’s AHRC project blog, to make teachers aware of this  invaluable teaching resource which explains concepts like ‘la francophonie’ and the history of Martinique. This also meant that Claire was able to showcase the exciting research being undertaken by colleagues in the department.