Stephanie Morin

Stephanie Morin
Cover Letter

Over the past twenty years I have been active as an exhibiting visual artist ( specialising in abstract modes of image making and the image/text relation, while simultaneously being involved in teaching fine arts and language in the areas of secondary and higher education. In addition, I’m currently completing a PhD in Cultural Analysis (University of Amsterdam ASCA) where my research focuses on the interplay of Italian Art and Politics through the lens of organisational culture. My activity therefore reflects a multidisciplinary preparation in art, language and culture founded on literary analysis (BA English literature, UBC Canada), fine arts and editorial illustration (Diploma, IED Rome Italy) and language and culture for international communication (MA, UNITUS Viterbo Italy).

I share the premise that enhancing language learning through cultural understanding is critical in promoting cross-cultural understanding and appreciation. My teaching methods, honed through the precepts of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), are directed towards integrating visual culture in the form of cinema and the plastic arts into my language learning courses.

Overall, my in-class experience confirms that visualizing and interpreting artistic expressions broadens the students understanding of the dynamic aspects of language as a culturally imbued, continuously transforming phenomenon. This has proven to be a powerful aid in introducing patterns of socio-cultural communication that can relate language to socially charismatic interaction and encourage a deeper appreciation of the target culture’s customs, beliefs, and values. In this light, one may approach art in language education as an interrelated process not only for understanding cultures, but also as a social action of sorts, through which empathy is developed through dialogue.