Current LSU DFS Graduate Students

 

 

 Khadim Doumouya, Literature. Major Professor: Professor Katelyn E. Knox

Khadim Doumouya is a native of Dakar in Senegal. He has completed his Bachelor's and his Masters in British and African Literature and Civilization at the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar in Senegal. He also earned a Master in French and Francophone studies at Mississippi State University. He is currently working on a PhD in Francophone Literature. Research interests: African literary movements and their evolution through the history, their challenges and their place in the world literary circle.

JULIUS YAW OSEI, Literature. Major Professor: Professor Katelyn E. Knox

Julius is is a Ph.D. candidate in Francophone Literature. He earned his M.A. in French and Francophone Literature from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his B.A. French and Geography from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. He also holds a Diploma in Basic Education (D.B.E) from Wesley College of Education (WESCO), where he developed a solid grasp of his teaching area and skills in effective teaching methods, educational psychology, and professional ethics. His final project explored using jigsaw puzzles to help students overcome learning difficulties. A maverick researcher, Julius focuses on socially sensitive and often overlooked topics in Francophone and Maghreb literature. His master’s thesis examines how Christianity, Islam, and tradition African religions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Maghreb have contributed to the suppression of women, drawing from rare and lesser-known texts. His dissertation centers on Mauritanian Francophone literature, which forms a bridge between Sub-Saharan African and the Maghreb, providing fresh insights into identity, social divisions, and racial dynamics through Surrealism and Negritude. He has taught at multiple levels of education, from high schools, colleges, and universities, serving as a classroom teacher, teaching assistant, and junior lecturer (adjunct).  His research areas include Contemporary Francophone Literature, North African Literature, Caribbean Literature, and Contemporary U.S. Civilization and Religion. Within these fields, he explores themes such as religion, gender, race, and identity, applying frameworks like intersectionality, Surrealism, Negritude, and postcolonial studies. He aims to challenge established narratives and amplify marginalized voices, reshaping how race, gender, and identity are understood in Francophone and comparative literature studies. 

 

S. Trent Dunkin, Language and Society. Major Professor: Professor Greg Stone

Trent, a native of Denham Springs, Louisiana, currently holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from LSU in French (2010) and in English (2011). After completing his undergraduate education, he continued his studies by obtaining a Master of Arts in Romance Languages from the University of New Orleans (2019) and a Master of Library and Information Science from LSU (2021). Presently, Trent is engaged in dissertation research, his topic focusing on the origins and evolution of French identity during the medieval period.                                                                                                                        Not only is Trent a doctoral candidate in the Department of French Studies, but he also serves as the Institutional Repository Librarian for LSU Libraries. Before becoming a librarian, Trent worked as a Resource Sharing Specialist for LSU Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan Services and as a Learner Specialist for LSU Continuing Education. He also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Tête-à-Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies.                                    Trent's specific research interests are comprehensive, encompassing areas from Academic Librarianship and Digital Libraries to Historical French Linguistics and Medieval French Civilization. He has a particular interest in Old French and the relations between Capetian France and Angevin England.

    Taiwo Ogundeyi. Major Professor: TBD

    Taiwo Ogundeyi is from the Southwestern part of Nigeria. He holds a bachelor's degree in French Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria. In 

    Summer 2024, he completed his Masters in French and Francophone Studies with a minor in Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

     He is currently a PhD student at LSU. Prior to his arrival at LSU, he had taught French language at both junior and senior high  for 5 years. Taiwo

     is interested in Atlantic history of nostalgia, its intersection with memory and trauma, as well as their contextual representation in Francophone

     literature, specifically in Sub-Saharan and Caribbean francophone studies. He is also interested in how contemporary Francophone literature

      grapples with how modern technology shapes identity and culture.

 

    

    

Rachel Overley. Literature. Major Professor: TBD

A Louisiana native from Baton Rouge, Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from LSU in French (2008). She has participated in several immersion programs at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia. Through LSU she studied abroad in Limoges, France and experienced LSU in Paris. Rachel has taught Elementary French in the public school system for 4 years and began teaching in 2021 at LSU's University Laboratory School where she is currently an Elementary French and Spanish Instructor. Her interests include: Teaching foreign language, Francophone literature, French Poetry, Linguistics, Culture, Civilization, Literature, and Language.

Rachel Kirk. Major Professor: Professor Carine Schermann & Bastien Craipain

Rachel Kirk is from Baltimore, Maryland and is currently PhD candidate interested in environmental and digital humanities with a regional focus on the Franco-Creole Caribbean (including Louisiana). She holds a master's degree in international education development from Columbia University and a BA in Political Science and French from Virginia Tech. She has taught French and cultural studies courses at Bard Early College New Orleans and has led twelve high school and university study abroad programs between France, Spain, Morocco, and Martinique. Her dissertation explores how literature, art, and oral histories of (un-)natural disasters shape loss, preservation, and transcultural connection in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Louisiana. She has received several fellowships to support her research, including most recently the MLA Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship, the Monroe Fellowship from the Tulane Global Humanities Center, and a research fellowship from the Jazz and Heritage Archive. She has presented her research at conferences such as the Modern Language Association (MLA), the Global Black French Studies conference, the 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone Studies conference, and the Caribbean Digital conference. Rachel is also co-convener of Ecologies Entrelacées, a digital humanities project focused on the themes of gender and environmental justice in the Franco-Creole Caribbean. Prior to starting her PhD at LSU, she was a program manager at the Columbia University Climate School, a Fulbright English teacher in Rabat, Morocco, and a French teacher at Landry-Walker High School in New Orleans.

 

Zull-Kifuly Moumouni 

Zull-Kifuly is a Ph.D. Candidate in French and Francophone Studies, with a Minor in Political Science at Louisiana State University. He is currently working on a dissertation entitled "Réparer l’Afrique: Violence politique et violation des droits de l’Homme dans la littérature contemporaine d'Afrique subsaharienne francophone,” a research that examines how contemporary francophone sub-Saharan African novels mobilize Law, Political Sciences and Literature as an interdisciplinary approach to not only denounce political violence in Africa but most importantly advocate for justice and reparation. His other research interests include the dynamics of immigration in Afropéa francophone literature. He is the Graduate Assistant for the LSU Center for French and Francophone Studies.

Zull-Kifuly participated in the 2024 Institute of French Cultural Studies at Dartmouth College themed “The Universal, Differences and Ethnicities”. He also presented his research works at different conferences such as the 2026 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone Studies International Colloquium at Notre Dame themed “Sound”, and the 2025 University of Alabama Languages Conference themed “Beyond Border”. He is the co-translator of the novel Colorant Felix (2023) by Destin Akpo.

Zull-Kifuly holds an MA in Applied Second Language Acquisition from Missouri State University and a BA in African Studies from the English Department at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. He taught English as a Foreign Language in secondary schools of Benin for 7 years and worked as American Peace Corps Volunteer Counterpart for two years before being selected for the Fulbright- Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program in 2018. During his master’s program, he taught French at undergraduate level as Graduate Teaching Assistant and won the Outstanding Teaching Graduate Assistant Award of Spring 2023.

 

Wolé Olúgúnlè

Wolé Olúgúnlè is a Yorùbá scholar from Oka Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria, and a Ph.D. candidate in the Departments of French Studies and Comparative Literature at Louisiana State University. His research focuses on African and Caribbean dramatic aesthetics, Afrocentric worldviews, and cultural narratives, with particular attention to autocriticism as a lens for exploring the socio-political realities, spiritual dimensions, and phenomenology of Black communities.

His scholarly interests span African and Caribbean literatures, ifacriticism, and the intersections of psychology, philosophy, and environmental studies within Black narratives. By bridging ancestral wisdom with contemporary theatrical expressions, he seeks to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black aesthetics in global literary traditions.

Wolé earned his M.A. in French Studies and Comparative Literature from the University of Ibadan and his B.A. in French Language and Literature from the University of Benin, both in Nigeria. With several years of experience as a French teacher and tutor, he now serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at LSU. His doctoral research examines the phenomenology of Black aesthetics in  African and Caribbean from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries.

 

Tajudeen Salaudeen

Tajudeen is a Nigerian currently pursuing a Ph.D. In the department of French Studies at Louisiana State University, with research interests in Francophone Studies and Comparative Literature. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2012 from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and his master’s degree in 2018 from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. With a strong background in teaching literature and French as a foreign language to students of diverse levels and backgrounds, Tajudeen currently serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of French Studies. His academic interests span postcolonial studies, African and Caribbean literature, and narrative theory.His current research focuses on the Bildungsroman and the literary representation of street children in contemporary African narratives.                     

KAREN AMARTEIFIO

Karen Amarteifio is a Ghanaian who holds an undergraduate degree in French and Francophone Studies from the University of Cape Coast,            Ghana. She is a graduate student in the department of French studies at LSU. She is currently completing her master's program in French                Studies with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, after which she will advance into the PhD program. She is a beneficiary of the        generous  scholarships offered by the department. During the summer of 2024, she attended the Institut d'études françaises de Touraine,              France, for a month-long language immersion program. Her research Interests include : Francophone Literature and  Women studies. 

 

ONOMEJOH PRINCEWILL
Onomejoh Princewill is a seasoned researcher and PhD student in the Department of French Studies at LSU. His interests include comparative literature, world literature, francophone and caribbean studies. He holds a bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages from  the University of Benin (First Class Honors), where he graduated as the all-time best student from the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Foreign Languages. He also earned a masters degree in translation from the same university with distinction. Princewill has taught french extensively at different levels. Before joining LSU, He was an adjunct lecturer at the University of Benin as well as the head of French Department, Boiling Point Academy, Benin City, Nigeria.

  Avril Akogun                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Avril Akogun is a Ghanian who graduated from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana with an undergraduate degree in French and                               Francophone  studies. She is currently a graduate student in LSU's Department of French Studies. She is working on completing her                             Masters in French Studies with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She will proceed for her PhD in French Stuides after her                   Masters program. Avril's research  interest is French and Francophone women writers. Avril is a recipient of the French Department's generous         scholarship program. She  participated in a one-month language immersion program at the Institut d'Etudes Françaises de Touraine, France,             during the summer of 2024.

 

  Mawuli Ankou

   Mawuli Ankou is a PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of French and Francophone Studies at Louisiana State                 University, where he is also a recipient of the prestigious Édouard Glissant Tout-Monde Fellowship.Originally from the Volta Region of                           Ghana ,Mawuli holds a Master’s degree in Global French Studies with focus on Second Language Acquisition from the University of Cincinnati in       Ohio, USA as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Winneba and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and                        Information Studies from the University of Ghana.

    His research explores contemporary Francophone literature and culture from 20th to 21st centuries, with a particular emphasis on West African        Francophone narratives, gender and sexuality studies, and a postcolonial migration. Currently, his work investigates not only themes of hope and      disillusionment in the experiences of Sub-Saharan African youth who engaged in perilous coastal migration journeys towards Europe, but also          interrogates the complex socio-political realities that drive these movements.

   Junia Seiyefa Owumi

Junia Seiyefa Owumi is a Nigerian who obtained her undergraduate degree in French language and communication from Université Africaine de        technologie et management (UATM-Gasa formation) Gbegamey, Benin Republic. Junia is currently a graduate student in LSU’s Department of            French Studies. She is enrolled in a dual degree program at Louisiana State University. She is working on completing her master's degree in the        Department of French Studies, alongside Education(minor) after which she will proceed into the PhD program. Junia is passionate about                    feminism, academia, Francophone literature, and culture. Before joining LSU, Junia was a French lecturer at the Nigerian Army College of                    Medical Sciences in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

 

Aviana San Souci

Aviana San Souci received her BA in French and Francophone Studies with a minor in Italian Studies from Louisiana State University in December 2023 and is currently working towards her MA in French and Francophone Studies at the same institution. She focuses on Francophone Caribbean issues and is writing her MA thesis on Créolité in 19th century New Orleans through the lens of a prominent member of the Creole community, R.L. Desdunes. She presented a paper entitled "Transcending Postcolonial Boundaries in Tierno Monénembo’s Saharienne Indigo" during the department's graduate student conference in Spring 2026. 

In addition to her academic interests, Aviana's interest in teaching led her to accompany one of LSU's summer study abroad programs to the Alps of southern France as a French instructor. She also has the honor of serving as the first student in a new teaching exchange between LSU and the Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry during the academic year 26-27, where she also plans to defend her thesis and finish her MA from a distance.