I came across Monsieur Durand while researching the age-old job interview question: "What sort of literature classes would you like to teach?" My answer: "The Literature of 9/11." Sexy, no?
I suppose it gets to my enduring interest in disaster -- how they change people, how they don't change people, how everything changes and nothing changes all at the same time. In researching this class, I came across Durand's own class of the same topic. And, being a good academic, I stole from it. Liberally. Because that's what a liberal arts education really means.
Possible positive boyfriend aspects: aside from his Gallic good looks and the quasi-queer charm that all Frenchmen-of-a-certain-age seem to possess, his research seems fascinating. Technology and hip-hop in modern French literature? Be still my heart. I do have a soft spot for academics that I've never been able to articulate. Give me discourse, give me rumination, give me your sweet, sweet lovin'.
Possible negative boyfriend aspects: This may come as a shock, but even though many Europeans seem gay in their mannerisms, inflected speech and cheek-kissing, most of them are not, in fact, gay. Stuffy academics, with their penchants for fine wool suits and elbow-patched tweed coats only exacerbate this image, but I need to remind myself that the line between homo and homme is a treacherous one, and one that must be tread lightly.
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