Dorothea Heitsch

Dorothea Heitsch is a Teaching Professor in the Department of French at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), serving as Undergraduate and Study Abroad Advisor. Her research focuses on intersections between literature and fields like medicine, religion, philosophy, feminism, alchemy, and the history of the book, with a primary specialization in Renaissance studies (14th–17th centuries across continents). She has published widely on figures such as Montaigne, Nietzsche, and early modern French authors.

Education:

• MA/PhD: University of Washington, Seattle (Comparative Literature, 1997)
• BA/MA: Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen (French & English, 1992)

Her research explores literary consciousness and medical culture in early modern France, interreligious dialogue, and globalization’s impact on French-speaking cultures. She actively involves undergraduates in research and Honors Theses and serves on graduate dissertation committees.

Awards:

• Recipient of the 2022 Schwab Academic Excellence Award
• Transatlantic Mobility Grant (2021–2022) for expanding study abroad programs
• Chapman Family Teaching Award (2016)
• First MLA Representative of Fixed-Term Faculty (2010–2014)

Teaching includes intermediate/advanced French language courses, 'Globalization and the French-Speaking World' (FREN 150), and a First-Year Seminar on medicine and narration. She advocates for contingent faculty rights through her MLA roles.