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Education

Ph.D., French, University of Wisconsin-Madison

M.A., French, Washington University in St. Louis

B.A., French, Washington University in St. Louis

Biography

Dr. Alexander Hertich is the Interim Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Director of the �ۿ۴�ý Core Curriculum, 2026-2027. As Director of the �ۿ۴�ý Core Curriculum, he oversees all aspects of the BCC, including articulation agreements, compliance, and transfer alignments. He also serves as Chair of the Core Practices and Core Curriculum Committees, supporting curricular development and assessment of core courses across the University.  Before taking over as Director this year, he served as a member of the Core Practices Committee.

A member of the �ۿ۴�ý community since 2004, Dr. Hertich is Professor of French and served as Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures for 10 years. In addition to teaching and administration, Dr. Hertich is an accomplished translator. His most recent translation, Tiphaine Samoyault’s Translation and Violence, was released by Princeton University Press in September 2026.

Teaching

Dr. Hertich teaches a variety of courses at �ۿ۴�ý, from beginning French to advanced literature and civilization courses, including classes on French cinema, autobiography, and the Francophone world. Dr. Hertich is also the founder and resident director of the �ۿ۴�ý January interim program in Paris.

Scholarship

Dr. Hertich is a translator and scholar of 20^th– and 21^st-century French literature. His translation of René Belletto’s novel Dying was a finalist for the French-American Foundation Annual Translation Prize. In addition to translation, he has published and presented in French and English on Patrick Modiano, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Frédéric Beigbeder, Marie NDiaye, and Raymond Queneau as well as other modern French writers.

Translations

• Translation and Violence. Translation of Traduction et violence by Tiphaine Samoyault (2020). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2026.
• The Firsts: A History of French Superheroes. Translation of Le Premiers: Une histoire des super-héros français by Xabi Molia (2017). Dallas / Dublin: Dalkey Archive Press, 2023.
• The End of the World Might Not Have Taken Place.Translation of La Fin du monde n’aurait pas eu lieu, a novel by Patrik Ourednik (2017). McLean (IL) / Dublin: Dalkey Archive Press, 2019.
• “Philosophy and Contemporary Reality: Beyond the Event.” Translation of “La Philosophie et l’actualité: au-delà de l’événement,” an article by Étienne Balibar (2003). Revisioning French Culture. Andrew Sobanet, ed. Liverpool University Press, 2019. 315-29.
• “The Wheel.” Translation of “La Roue,” a short story by Christian Gailly (2012). Best European Fiction 2016. Victoria: Dalkey Archive Press, 2015. 74-81.
• “An Unexpected Return.” Translation of “Un Retour inattendu,” a short story by Nicolas Bouyssi (2013). Best European Fiction 2015, Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press, 2014. 151-7.
• A Walk Through the Land of Old Age. A translation of Promenade au pays de la vieillesse, A documentary film co-written by Simone de Beauvoir. Political Writings (The Beauvoir Series), Margaret A. Simons and Marybeth Timmermann, eds. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 2012. 339-63.
• Dying. A translation of René Belletto’s novel Mourir (2002). Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press. 2010.

Selected Articles and Book Chapters

• “A New Paradigm for the Twenty-First Century Author: Frédéric Beigbeder, l’enfant du siècle.” Dalhousie French Studies. Vol. 108 (Spring 2017), 3-14.
• “Any day is a whole story, even when you believe nothing’s happened” : Jacques Réda and the Everyday.”Semiotics and Hermeneutics of the Everyday, Lia Yoka and Grigoris Paschalidis, eds. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. 290-301.
• “Jean-Philippe Toussaint et Alain Robbe-Grillet sur le double circuit.”&�Բ�����;Existe-t-il un style minuit?Karine Germoni, Annick Jauer and Michel Bertrand, eds. Aix-en-Provence: Presses Universitaires de Provence, 2014. 125-34.
• “Erratum… Errata… Erasum…: The Selection of Sources for Raymond Queneau’sLe Chiendent.”&�Բ�����;FLS French Literature Series, Vol. XXXVII (2010), 205-14.
• “Philosophes et / ou voyous? The Case of Queneau and Descartes.”&�Բ�����;Dalhousie French Studies. Vol. 79 (Summer 2007), 71-82.
• “Questions de solitude et de périphérie dans les romans de Jean-Philippe Toussaint et de Patrick Modiano.”&�Բ�����;Pour une cartographie du “roman urbain” du XIXème au XXIème siècles. Christina Horvath and Helle Waahlberg, eds. Toronto: Paratexte, 2007. 197-204.
• “Identity and Place in Marie NDiaye’s En Famille.&�Բ�����;”The French Review. Vol. 78 no. 4 (March 2005), 718-28.

Service

Dr. Hertich has served as Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures as well as on a number of college and university committees including Tenure and Promotion, Faculty Grievance, Liberal Arts and Sciences Sabbatical, and University Strategic Planning.