Rachel Watson

Rachel Watson is a Lecturer in French at Yale University, specializing in 20th/21st-century French and Francophone theater. Her work bridges theater studies, performance studies, and pedagogy, emphasizing embodied learning through performance. She holds a Ph.D. from NYU, M.A. from Columbia, and B.A. from Dartmouth College, with prior teaching roles at NYU, Sarah Lawrence, and Dartmouth.

Education:

• Ph.D. in French, New York University
• M.A. in French Cultural Studies, Columbia University
• B.A., Dartmouth College

Her research focuses on diaspora representations, forced migration, embodied memory, and political theater. Her manuscript-in-progress, (Re)Membering the Body, examines diaspora dramaturgies. Publications appear in The Drama Review, Theater, and Arab Stages. She translates for Béatrice Picon-Vallin's work on the Théâtre du Soleil.

Her teaching integrates theater performance to enhance language proficiency and cultural analysis, using immersive methods inspired by her training at the Rassias Center and Jacques Lecoq's theater school.