We recently heard from Ombline Damy who participated in the UBC Visiting International Research Students (VIRS) Program. Since 2014, this incredible program has enabled UBC to welcomed more than 2,500 VIRS students from 650 universities and 85 different countries around the world.
Scroll down to read through our complete interview with Ombline Demy and hear what she has to say about her experiences studying abroad in Canada!
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your research?
I am a PhD student at Sciences Po (l’Institut d’études politiques de Paris) studying Comparative Literature. My research focuses on literary representations of the past, with a focus on the use of child protagonists and narrators in post-1945 fictional works seeking to narrate the horrors of 20th century history. This term, I was very lucky to be a UBC Visiting International Research Student (VIRS) with the Department of History for six weeks under the supervision of Dr. Tamara Myers.
How would you summarize your VIRS program experience in one sentence?
The research stay in Canada has proven invaluable for my dissertation, and has nourished it in ways I could not have imagined.
How were your research experiences conducted in tandem with community members in the UBC Department of History or more broadly across campus?
I was very fortunate to meet distinguished scholars at the department working on the history of childhood and youth, Drs. Crystal Sheffield, Tamara Myers, and Leslie Paris, and on the history of the Holocaust, Dr. Richard Menkis. Hearing about their work and approaches has been extremely stimulating. I was also delighted to be welcomed by graduate students, in particular Lily Hart, Katrina Hermann, and Isabelle Avakumovic-Pointon, whose insights on methodology and approach helped me fine tune my own.
What advice would you offer to other graduate students who are either curious or nervous about participating in an international student exchange?
I can only encourage other PhD students to undertake such exchanges. Sciences Po’s History Department in Paris would love to have you!
