Moussa Sow is a graduate student in Francophone studies and an adviser for the French Learning Community in Highland Hall. He helped organize the weeklong Francophone Film Festival with fellow graduate student Carole Salmon. The two also organize the biweekly Cine Club.
Sow is from Senegal and came to the United States to earn his degree. He graduated from Brandeis University in Boston and arrived at LSU three years ago to get his Ph.D. in Francophone studies.
Why did you decide to attend LSU?
“It has one of the best French programs in the nation. So getting a Ph.D. here is good. Plus, the similar weather that Louisiana has to Senegal was a plus.”
What is the French Learning Community in Highland Hall?
“We have a wing in Highland Hall, and students are recruited each year. The students pledge to speak French most of the time.”
How large is the French Learning Community?
“We have two floors on the left wing that are currently made up of nine students.”
How can interested student get involved in the French Learning Community?
“Interested students can let Residential Life know that they want to live there, or they can contact the French Department.”
What is Francophone?
“It means French speaking that occurs outside France.”
What is the Francophone Cine Club?
“It occurs every other Thursday at 234 Prescott Hall, and we show a Francophone movie. We use these movies to show students and the community about Francophone movies. We do this because there are a lot of people interested in these movies, and after each movie, we answer questions that the audience may have.”
What was the Francophone Film Festival?
“It was sponsored by the Center for French and Francophone Studies. They gave us a really good budget that we used to invite filmmakers and actors from Africa. We showed thirteen movies, and it was April 7th through the 11th. The filmmakers and actors discussed the films when they were done to give the audience a sense of what the films were trying to say.”
Were you happy with the turnout?
“There was a good bit of international students there, but this event was geared more toward the LSU and Baton Rouge community and not in particular the international students. And we did not see as many of them as we hoped for, but we liked the overall turnout.”