Professor in the French Studies Department and a member of the MARGOT Research Group.
Teaching and research interests include medieval French literature and culture, with a focus on Christine de Pizan and the Roman de la rose; iconography and the relation between text and image; late medieval German literature; Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbruecken; science in literature; digital tool development.
Teaching
Courses in language, cultural and literary studies, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, ranging from first year language courses to medieval French literature and culture; nineteenth-century literature.
The University of Waterloo doctoral programme in French was begun in Fall 2007.
Students supervised
University of Waterloo
M.A. students:
- Jazmine Muller-Germann (French: Christine de Pizan et l'Epistre Othea).
- Chantale Bessette, French Literature, Completion Date: August 10, 2007.
Research paper title: Pérégrinations d'une paria de Flora Tristan: une étude sémiotique de la culture matérielle.
- Larissa Sloutsky, French Literature, Completion Date: April 7, 2006.
Research paper title: Les déictiques comme marques du statut social de la femme dans les récits courts de Guy de Maupassant.
- Alina Cipcigan, French Literature, Completion Date: September 20, 2004.
Thesis title: Le bricolage du profane et du sacré chez Chrétien de Troyes et Marie de France.
- Laila Ali, French Literature, Completion Date: June, 2004.
Research paper title: Jules Vallès, un combattant de mots, un auteur digne d'être étudié.
University of Alberta
M.A. students:
- Adriana Feneser, German Literature, Completion Date: October 2, 2001.
Thesis title: Die Identitaetskonstruktion bei Hildegard von Bingen und Mechthild von Magdeburg (The Construction of Identity in the Works of Hildegard von Bingen and Mechthild von Magdeburg).
Recent courses taught
Graduate courses
2009-2010
- Reading course, Encoding of Medieval Texts
- FR611 Texte et image dans la littérature médiévale
2008-2009
- Reading course, Encoding of Medieval Texts
- FR611 Texte et image dans la littérature médiévale
2005-2006
- FR685 La science dans/et la littérature
- FR685 Ecriture féminine
- ENGL705 Old and Middle English Literature
2003-2005
- FR611 Du parchemin à l'hypertextualité (twice)
Undergraduate courses
2009-2010
-
FR485 Ecriture feminine
-
FR197 Introduction to French Literature and Culture
-
FR192a French Language: Module One
-
FR352 French Language 3: Module Two
2008-2009
- FR354 La littérature du dix-neuvième siècle
2007-2008
- FR410 French Medieval Literature (Nantes)
- FR351 French Language (Nantes)
2006-2007
- FR192a French Language: Module One
- FR410 French Medieval Literature
2007-2008 (in Nantes)
2006-2007
- FR192a French Language: Module One
- FR410 French Medieval Literature
2005-2006
- FR197 Introduction to French Literature and Culture (taught every semester)
- FR192a French Language: Module One
- FR354 La littérature du dix-neuvième siècle
- FR485 Ecriture féminine
2004-2005
- FR192a French Language: Module One
- FR410 French Medieval Literature
2003-2004
- FR354 La littérature du dix-neuvième siècle
Research
Research activities include digital publishing of Medieval and Early Modern French and German texts; the Debate about the Roman de la rose; text and image in medieval literature and iconography; Christine de Pizan; Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbruecken; translations and critical editions of late medieval texts; science in literature.
With several international partners, we are currently working on developing a multirepresentational annotation tool for pictorial heavy digital databases. I am also writing my second monograph on the discourse and role of alchemy in Jean de Meun's Roman de la rose.
Selected publications
Books
- Bruce, Donald and Christine McWebb, eds. Texte: Revue de critique et de théorie littéraire. Epistémocritique. 43/44 (2009), published by U of Toronto P.
- Poirier, Guy, C. McWebb, D. Russell, F. Paré, eds. Mélanges offerts à Hannah Fournier, Québec: PUL, 2008.
- McWebb, C. Debating the Romance of the Rose: A Critical Anthology. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Articles
- McWebb, C. (with Diane Jakacki). "The Roman de la rose in Text and Image : a Multimedia Teaching and Research Tool," accepted for publication in Digitizing Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture, eds. Brent Nelson and Melissa Terras, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2010, 26 manuscript pages.
- McWebb, C. "Le discours de l'alchimie et l'alchimie du discours dans le Roman de la rose de Jean de Meun." Texte: Revue de critique et de théorie littéraire. Epistémocritique. Eds. D. Bruce and C. McWebb 43/44 (2009) : 66-78.
- McWebb, C. "Rhetoric as Science: The Forms and Functions of Knowledge." Teaching Christine de Pizan. Ed. Andrea Tarnowski. New York: Modern Languages Association of America, 2009 accepted (15 ms pages).
- McWebb, C. (with Donald M. Bruce). "Rhetoric as a Science in the Prose Works of Christine de Pizan." Juliette Dor et Marie-Elisabeth Henneau, éds., Christine de Pizan. Une femme de science, une femme de lettres, Paris: Champion, 2008, pp. 23-37 .
- McWebb, C. (with E. Jeffrey Richards). "New Perspectives on the Debate about the Roman de la rose." Desireuse de Plus Avant Enquerre. Eds. Liliane Dulac, Anne Paupert, Christine Reno, Bernard Ribémont. Paris: Champion, 2008, 103-18.
Digital publishing
- Database of French chanson de geste, Lion de Bourges, http://margot.uwaterloo.ca, 2010 (in progress)
- Database of 100 medieval manuscript miniatures from Roman de la rose manuscripts, complete with bibliographic and codicological information, http://margot.uwaterloo.ca, 2008
- Excerpts of the Roman de la rose in the original and in English translation and image database, http://margot.uwaterloo.ca, 2007.
Service
My service includes several selection committees at the departmental and faculty level, associate chair for graduate and undergraduate studies, studies abroad coordinator for the department, representation on senate, faculty executive committee, university appointment review committee, as well as serving on the editorial board of Orbis: A Journal for Medieval French (Johns Hopkins University, @nalyses. Revue de théorie et de critique littéraire (University of Ottawa), and Digital Studies.
