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Marquis Scholar Richard Lear ’06 (Stroudsburg, Pa.) is working on a textual criticism of the classic French work La Nef des folles, or Ship of Fools, penned by Jehan Drouyn in 1498.
Working with Olga Anna Duhl, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, Lear is engaged in detailed research of the medieval work, which satirizes human vices and follies. Duhl received a grant from the Renaissance Society of America for her research on the book.
The two are collaborating through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. The program has helped make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate in EXCEL each year go on to publish papers in scholarly journals and/or present their research at conferences.
“The problem we face is in establishing an accurate text,” says Lear, a double major in French and government & law. “The work has been translated so many times in middle French and other languages that it has lost its original sense and ideas. We’re working to redo the inaccurate text. The various translations have muddled nuances of thought and language and we have to undo that damage.”
Working with footnotes and endnotes and translating some passages of text in the early stages of the project, Lear admits he faces a challenge.
“I consider French to be my second language,” he says, “but dealing with middle French is like another language. The very typescript is different from what we see today. Accents are different, spellings are different. It is like learning a new language.”
Fortunately, he says, Duhl is there to keep him on course.
“I come to her with my work, with problems I encounter and she is able to help me clarify the nuances of the text,” he explains. “She can help me make the translation leap from medieval French to modern French, which is her ultimate goal, a modern translation of the work.”
“Richard is being exposed to the linguistic differences between middle and modern French as we seek a readable contemporary version of the book,” says Duhl. “He is helping me with the complex critical apparatus by which we explain every change we make to the text in order to clarify it. One of Richard’s most difficult tasks will be the compilation and explanation of the many, many classical references from Greek and Latin. There is a whole other cultural dimension that he must deal with as he explains the classical sources.”
Lear says Duhl, with whom he has studied French in the classroom, is always supportive of his studies.
“She approached me and wanted me to assist in her ongoing research project with Ship of Fools,” he says. “She’s the sort of professor who wants to involve her students as much as possible. She is so excited about French both in and out of the classroom. I really enjoy the fact that such a busy and gifted professor takes time out to work individually with students.”
This semester Lear is taking Duhl’s class in medieval French, in which he finds a strong supplement to the research project.
“Medieval France is a time period too often forgotten,” he says, “and Professor Duhl makes this important time in the past come to life. It is especially helpful for me to study the time period in which Ship of Fools circulated.”
“The great thing about Professor Duhl, and about Lafayette, is that you are encouraged to get involved with time-consuming, challenging scholarship,” adds Lear. “This project has given me the chance to develop my French and to play a more active role in defining my own education.”
Duhl has only the highest of praise for Lear.
“Richard and I enjoy a highly wonderful relationship,” she says. “I saw his potential when he took my advanced French class. His spoken French is just extraordinary. He possesses a wonderful imagination; he is an extremely qualified and conscientious student. I would like to see him pursue a thesis down the road where he combines French with his government studies.”
“Richard is a very modest student. His focus is always on his work, never himself,” she adds.
A graduate of Notre Dame High School, Lear is a member of Students for Social Justice, which he says “aims to expand campus awareness of alternative perspectives on local, national and global issues.” He is also a member of the Association of Lafayette Feminists; Creating a Healthier, Interesting, Livable Lafayette, which sponsors activities for stress relief; and Questioning Established Sexual Taboos.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty-two students were accepted to present their work at the annual conference last month.
Chosen from among Lafayette’s most promising applicants, Marquis Scholars receive special financial aid and distinctive educational experiences and benefits, including a three-week, Lafayette-funded study-abroad course during January’s interim session between regular semesters. Marquis Scholars also participate in cultural activities in major cities and on campus, and mentoring programs with Lafayette faculty.