Sanam Nader-Esfahani, '09
French Major
Born in Iran, I moved to Canada when I was ten years old and have traveled and lived in several countries. The attraction that Mount Holyoke had for me when I was choosing a college was the fact that I would be able to integrate the study of the arts with science, as I was originally hoping to study mathematics while pursuing literature as in interest.
After studying French in high school and reading Dante's Inferno in English, I decided to learn Italian so as to be able to read Dante in his original language. I have always enjoyed literature, and through a process of discovery that started in my first year of college, this interest has evolved into a passion. For my honors thesis, "L'esthétique baroque et l'être brisé," I am doing a comparative study between two twentieth century authors - Québécois and Italian - using a Baroque aesthetic to analyze their writing. In the fall of 2009, I will be attending graduate school to pursue advanced studies in French and Italian literatures.