Social Images, Images of Art: Theoretical, Historical, and Intercultural Issues in Language Didactics

Conducted at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and KU Leuven as part of an international dual PhD program, this interdisciplinary research lies at the intersection of language didactics and art history. It examines the pedagogical, social, and political value of images in the teaching of foreign languages — a field that has privileged ties with aesthetics and the sensory.

Inspired by Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma, a work that is both didactic and experimental, it is structured around three interwoven layers of historicity: that of visual materials used in foreign language teaching, that of my experience as a teacher-researcher, and that of the students of the DU Passerelle at Sorbonne Nouvelle through the stories told during this investigation.

Carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Immigration History, it highlights the role of images and languages in the circulation of ideologies and the shaping of identities within a didactic context. It also shows how “friction” with art and history can enrich work with images in the teaching and learning of foreign languages. Finally, it emphasizes that language can be constructed both as a tool of communication and as a medium for transmission, recognition, and creation.