Professor Mann joined the faculty of The University North Georgia  in August, 1999. He has been teaching French since the fall of 1984, and Spanish since the fall of 1989.  His area of academic specialization is 20th-century French narrative, and his dissertation, which he defended at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in July of 1999, is entitled "Constructive Criticism; the Poetics of Space and Enclosure in Selected Novels of Raymond Queneau." Professor Mann received his M.A. from the University of North Texas in French literature, with minor concentrations in Spanish and foreign-language pedagogy, in 1986.  He received his B.A. in French, Spanish, and secondary-school pedagogy, also from UNT, in 1983. He graduated from Boulder High School, where his major interest was jazz music performance in trumpet & drums, in 1976. He survived the late 1970's as a not-quite exemplary university student at the University of Colorado-Boulder, semi-professional musician, rare coin dealer, and bon-vivant before returning to undertake a degree in music at UNT in 1980. His other domains of study and interest include music, philosophy, gastronomy, food science, cooking, physics, engineering, biomechanics, exercise physiology, meteorology, and tinkering with things until they work.

Dr. Mann teaches all levels of French and lower-division Spanish. He has published articles, workshops, and book reviews on French literature, culture, civilization, and language pedagogy, as well as in sociology and history. From 2000 to 2008, he directed the activities for Foreign Language Day in the spring, and continues to serve as the emcee for the language bowl. He is also the Unit Web Coordinator for the Modern & Classical Languages website.

In service, he has chaired the Faculty Grievance, Promotion & Tenure Guidelines, Computer/Information Technology Literacy, Child Care, Discussion Forum, and Security & Access Committees, and currently serves on the Academic Activities Committee, the Institutional Research Board, the Cultural Events Committee, and the Gender Studies Council. He served two-year terms as a departmental representative on the Faculty Senate for 2001-2003 and 2007-2009, where he has also served as Secretary and in a campus-wide at-large seat for the 2005-2007 term. He is the campus director for NGCSU's study-abroad program in Toulouse, France, and teaches French Culture & Civilization I for the University System of Georgia's French Distance-Learning Collaborative. As Chair of the Department Head Executive Committee, he acts as organizer and liaison between the Department Heads and the Senior Administration. Finally, he is serving his second 2-year term on the Board of Directors of NASILP (National Association of Self-Instructional Language Programs) and has recently been elected to the vice-presidency of that organization.

For the academic year 2005-2006, Dr. Mann served as Interim Department Head of Language & Literature. In the fall of 2006, that department became two; the Department of English and the Department of Modern Languages, with Dr. Mann assuming the responsibilities as its permanent Head. Since then, working collaboratively with a willing and able faculty as well as enlightened, transformational leadership, the Department has grown from 8 faculty to more than 25. Its selection of languages has increased from 3 - the traditional French, German, and Spanish - to include Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Russian. Many new programs have also come into being; intensive Summer Language Institutes (SLI's) in Arabic, Chinese, Korean,Russian, and Spanish, 3-semester intensive strategic language programs in Arabic and Chinese, and as of fall of 2011, a new major in Chinese Language & Literature joins those in French, Spanish, and French/Spanish for Business. A major in Arabic has been approved by the Board of Regents and will be available in January of 2013, at which time NGCSU and Gainesville State College will be consolidated into the University of North Georgia. Additional intensive summer language programs for high-school students and commissioned military officers from other institutions are also available. Interested parties should see the Department's website or contact the department for details.

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A Brief C.V.	Professional Coordinates and Office Hours	This Semester's Classes	Toulouse Program	Foreign Language Day	Devoirs/Tarea
Student Resources	Academic Pursuits	Overview of 1000-Level French	WebCT Courses	Past Syllabuses*	Personal
Entrée	Language Lab

© D. Brian Mann 1996-2012, all rights reserved