Maria Loftus

Dr. Maria Loftus is an Assistant Professor in French at the School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University. She holds degrees from French and Irish universities, including a PhD in Sub-Saharan Documentary Cinema. Her research focuses on documentary cinema, CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), student-created multimedia content, social empathy, and anti-racism.

Education: B.A. in Irish and French; M.A./PhD in French Literature, Discourse and Representations, Applied Linguistics, and Sub-Saharan Documentary Cinema (French/Irish institutions).

Research Interests: Protest and documentary cinema, visual representations of colonization, CALL innovations, student multimedia creation in SLA, telecollaboration, and anti-racism through creative outputs. She co-supervises PhDs on blended mobilities, language learning creativity, and modal verbs for second-language learners.

Awards: Co-recipient of Research Ireland’s New Foundations funding (2023-2024) for projects on social empathy and antiracism. Active in funded initiatives like Ordinary Treasures: Objects from Home, fostering solidarity through material culture.

Grants & Projects: Lead roles in projects like Students as Creators of Interactive Video Content (2020) and Ordinary Treasures (2024). Collaborates with Jawaharlal Nehru University on cross-cultural educational research.

Labs/Teams: Co-leads the Ordinary Treasures initiative, exploring antiracism through youth culture. Engages in interdisciplinary teams addressing forced migration, volunteer-led education, and refugee integration networks.