2008 Woodie Awards
French professor inspires students
a profile of Joseph Dieme
Ashley Mackin
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Campus
French professor Joseph Diémé writes so rigorously on the chalkboard, he breaks a piece of chalk in almost every class. He insists on watching the time on his watch, not the clock. When a student asks what a word means, they'll hear "Donnez-moi un synonyme," (give me a synonym) instead of what it means.
Diana Heberger, a student in the Over 60 program, is taking French 4 with Diémé this semester.
"It's such an honor to have a teacher who can offer me a global perspective," she said. "He is incredibly intelligent and has a wide range of information and cultural perspective. He is an amazing teacher."
That cultural perspective comes from traveling and studying so much in so many places. Diémé was born in Senegal, a country in West Africa, where he lived until he graduated from high school in 1992.
From there, he went to France to attend college, where he studied English and American Literature. In addition to English and French, Diémé speaks Spanish, Wolof (the Senegalese national language) and Diola, another Senegalese language.
Part of his college requirements were to spend a year abroad. He decided to spend that year at the University of Iowa through an exchange program with his univeristy.
It was there that he said he "fell in love" with the American education system. He said he appreciated the connections students get to have with their professors in the United States. "Most teachers in the states have what I call a horizontal relationship with their students," Diémé said, "meaning they have a connection with their students and it's the student's perception of what education is." In Senegal, he said, the professors are more distant and less interactive.
Diémé went back to France after his year in Iowa was done. He decided to come back to Iowa and get a masters degree in French culture, and started looking for a teaching job in the United States. After many interviews, he found Humboldt State, and started teaching here in August 2006.
Diana Heberger, a student in the Over 60 program, is taking French 4 with Diémé this semester.
"It's such an honor to have a teacher who can offer me a global perspective," she said. "He is incredibly intelligent and has a wide range of information and cultural perspective. He is an amazing teacher."
That cultural perspective comes from traveling and studying so much in so many places. Diémé was born in Senegal, a country in West Africa, where he lived until he graduated from high school in 1992.
From there, he went to France to attend college, where he studied English and American Literature. In addition to English and French, Diémé speaks Spanish, Wolof (the Senegalese national language) and Diola, another Senegalese language.
Part of his college requirements were to spend a year abroad. He decided to spend that year at the University of Iowa through an exchange program with his univeristy.
It was there that he said he "fell in love" with the American education system. He said he appreciated the connections students get to have with their professors in the United States. "Most teachers in the states have what I call a horizontal relationship with their students," Diémé said, "meaning they have a connection with their students and it's the student's perception of what education is." In Senegal, he said, the professors are more distant and less interactive.
Diémé went back to France after his year in Iowa was done. He decided to come back to Iowa and get a masters degree in French culture, and started looking for a teaching job in the United States. After many interviews, he found Humboldt State, and started teaching here in August 2006.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jan
posted 10/18/08 @ 12:17 AM PST
I think that Joseph Dieme is the greatest teacher!!! He is very brilliant, and really makes me very thankful to be back at school. I can't wait to get to class in the mornings, because once I leave class I have so much more of an understanding of the language. (Continued…)
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