Vlad Dima joins the Department of French and Italian after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He’s published articles on sound issues in the films of Quentin Tarantino, Djibril Mambety and Jean-Luc Godard, studied the female voice in the sitcom Seinfeld, delved into the evolution of the murder scene in Hitchcock’s movies and written reviews of A Single Man and Inglourious Basterds in Bright Lights Film Journal, among others.
Dima, a native of Romania, was hired with funding provided through the Madison Undergraduate Initiative. He looks forward to exploring the film resources in Madison, which he calls “a great town for cinema.”
Welcome, Vlad! Tell us about your research interests.
I’m interested in French and Francophone cinemas, specifically the role that sound plays in creating a social/aural space.
What courses will you teach?
Exploring French, Introduction to Literature, and a graduate seminar on cinema in Spring 2013.
What can students expect from you in the classroom this year?
I am very approachable, and love good communication; a lot of (intense) work is expected both from the students and from myself.
What’s the best thing you’ve done in Madison so far?
Found Trader Joe’s.
How do you unwind?
I grade. (We challenge Vlad’s new humanities colleagues to liven things up for him.)
What’s the most-thumbed book on your shelf?
The Historian. (Vampire fans: The Historian is the 2005 debut novel of American author Elizabeth Kostova, blending the history and folklore of Vlad Ţepeş and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula.)