My name is Melissa, and I am an American writer and art historian who studied in France for a semester as an undergraduate. Since then, I’ve had my sights set on returning to the French university system. I wanted to come back to France, to Besançon, because of my background in art history and my previous experience in bookstores and archives–the rich, cultural life of this country allows me to engage with areas of the liberal arts that can be lacking where I am originally from in the States. As a student with many interests in the humanities, in this master’s program I feel as though I can now refine certain areas of my practice, such as learning how to catalog books with newfound skills in bibliographic description. The master’s degree attracted me, too, because I have always wanted to learn more about computer programming languages which will aid me in my research and, as such, my writing practice. One day, I want to own a bookstore, so I hope that the applicable skills I am learning in this master’s program will lead to its success. So far, I have enjoyed meeting new students from all over the world and having some reprieve from the busy, metropolitan life from which I usually hail.
