Language and Culture Institute

Anne Protopappas joined The Spence faculty in the fall of 1998. A French native speaker of Greek and Vietnamese origin, Anne was raised and educated in Paris where she majored in Chinese and Japanese languages at the Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales as well as Political Philosophy, Economics and Constitutional Law at Sciences PoParis. Anne’s graduate work specialized in Asian Studies and Comparative Politics at the Beijing Language & Culture University and the School of International Affairs at Columbia, where she is currently working on her doctoral dissertation titled Genealogies of Colonizing States: Cultural Assimilation, Citizenship and National Identity in the French and Japanese Empires. Anne’s teaching career demonstrates a longstanding commitment to women’s education, with experience teaching all levels of French language, literature and post-colonial history at Mount Holyoke and Barnard Colleges and The Brearley and The Spence Schools. Throughout her 20 year-tenure at Spence, Anne has worked to weave language and civic global awareness inside and outside the classroom by integrating the study of history and current events into her French and Chinese curriculums; through her role as Model UN faculty advisor and mentor to the Debate Club; and by contributing to Assemblies and School events on issues of global relevance as early as the 2003 Spence Teach-In series prompted by the Iraq War. In her most recent role as Coordinator of the Language & Culture Institute, Anne uses her training in philosophy, multicultural history and global ethics to sharpen the focus on language and cultural identity and develop a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary framework for the Salon classes and overall programs. Having also studied Modern and African dance and classical music—cello and piano—Anne deeply values Spence’s genuine commitment to a liberal arts education for girls.