knisely

Dr. Kris Aric Knisely (PhD, Emory University, French and Educational Studies, 2015) is Assistant Professor of French and Intercultural Competence in the Department of French and Italian at the University of Arizona. He is also a faculty member of the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Graduate Interdisciplinary Program and is a member of the Trans Studies Research Cluster (TSRC). 

Knisely’s research, in its broadest form, considers gender and sexuality in the linguistic, socio-cultural, and instructional dimensions of language learning. This entails asking how the linguistically- and culturally-situated ways that we perceive and embody gender enter into language education, what normativities manifest there, and how those normativities can be laid bare, upended, and unscripted by language teachers and learners. Within this general frame, Knisely focuses on the culturally-situated linguistic practices of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who language in French, particularly as they can inform the development and articulation of trans-affirming language curricula, materials, research, training, and pedagogies.

Dr. Knisely’s work has appeared in a variety of edited volumes and journals including Contemporary French Civilization, CFC Intersections, Critical Multilingualism Studies, Foreign Language Annals, The French Review, Gender and Language, Journal of Applied Measurement, and Pensamiento Educativo, among others. Knisely is also co-editor (with Eric Russel, UC-Davis) of Redoing linguistic worlds: Unmaking gender binaries, remaking gender pluralities (Multilingual Matters). 

You can find additional publication details both here and below.

Dr. Knisely has a broad range of teaching interests including French language, linguistics, intercultural communication, gender and sexuality, and education, among others.

SELECT Recent Publications

Knisely, K. and Russell, E. L. (Eds.). (Forthcoming). Redoing linguistic worlds: Unmaking gender binaries, remaking gender pluralities. Multilingual Matters https://bit.ly/RLWbook

Knisely, K. (2022). A Starter Kit for Rethinking TGNC Representation and Inclusion in French L2 Classrooms. In E.N. Meyer & E. Hoft-March (Eds.) Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom. Routledge. 22-33. [Access via UA Libraries] [View via Publisher's Site]

Knisely, K. (2022). Gender-just language teaching and linguistic competence development. Foreign Language Annals. 55(3), 644-667. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12641

Knisely, K. (2022). Gender-justice and the development of intersectional thinking: Evidence from an intermediate French course. CFC Intersections. 1(1), 147-160. https://doi.org/10.3828/cfci.2022.11

Knisely, K. (2023). Teaching trans: The Impetus for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming inclusivity in L2 classrooms. In K. Davidson, S. Johnson, & L. Randolph (Eds.) How We Take Action: Social Justice in K-16 Language Classrooms. Information Age. 81-90.

Knisely, K. (2022). Teaching trans knowledges: Situating expansive possibilities in an intermediate French course. In S. Bouamer & L. Bourdeau (Eds.) Diversity and Decolonization in French Studies: New Approaches to Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan. 165-180. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95357-7_11 Available open access at: https://rdcu.be/cKP37

Knisely, K. (2022). A Starter Kit for Rethinking Trans Representation and Inclusion in French L2 Classrooms. In E.N. Meyer & E. Hoft-March (Eds.) Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom. Routledge. 22-33. https://bit.ly/3oZRsbM

Knisely, K. and Paiz, J.M. (2021) Bringing Trans, Non-binary, and Queer Understandings to Bear in Language Education. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 9(1), 23-45. [View Open-Access via Publisher's Site] 

Knisely, K. (2021). L/G/B and T: Queer Excisions, Entailments, and Intersections. In J. M. Paiz & J. E. Coda (Eds.) Intersectional Perspectives on LGBTQ+ Issues in Modern Language Teaching and Learning. Palgrave Macmillan. 153-182. [Access via UA Libraries] [View via Publisher's Site] 

Knisely, K. (2020). Le français non-binaire: linguistic forms used by non-binary speakers of French. Foreign Language Annals. 53(4), 850-876. doi: 10.1111/flan.12500 [View via Publisher's Site] [View Open-Access Read Only Version] 

Knisely, K. (2020). “How do you say the singular they in French?”: How non-binary people are adapting the French language. OASIS Summary of Knisely (2020). Le français non-binaire: linguistic forms used by non-binary speakers of French. Foreign Language Annals. 53(4). 1-27. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12500. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/np1939428?locale=en

Knisely, K. (2020). Subverting the culturally unreadable: Understanding the self-positioning of non-binary speakers of French. The French Review. 94(2), 149-168.

Knisely, K. (2020). Read this realness: How non-binary people are taking up and subverting cultural and linguistic spaces in French. OASIS Summary of Knisely (2020). Subverting the culturally unreadable: Understanding the self-positioning of non-binary speakers of French. The French Review. 94(2). 149-168. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/2227mp912?locale=en 

Knisely, K. and Gorham, J. (2019). Systems in Need of Activism: Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and U.S. Primary and Secondary Education. The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association.

Knisely, K. (2018). Intégration des réseaux sociaux dans les cours de langue: justifications et mises en garde. The French Review. 92(1), 97-111.

Knisely, K. and Wind, S. (2017). Developing a Survey to Explore Sense of Belongingness related to Language Learning Using Rasch Measurement Theory. Pensamiento Educativo. 54(2), 1-20. [English version].

Knisely, K. and Wind, S. (2017). Desarrollando un cuestionario exploratorio de la sensación de pertenencia relacionado al aprendizaje de idiomas utilizando la teoría de medición educacional de Rasch. Pensamiento Educativo. 54(2), 1-20. DOI 10.7764/PEL.54.2.2017.2 [Spanish version].

Knisely, K. (2017). Exploring the role of culture in the formation of French language ideologies among US post-secondary students. Contemporary French Civilization 42(2), 189-210.

Knisely, K. (2016). Language Learning and the Gendered Self: The Case of French and Masculinity in a US Context. Gender and Language 10(2), 216-239.

Zorko, D., Alkhas, A. and Knisely, K. (2015). Should we go high or low? A few tips on using and choosing technology wisely. The Voice of WAFLT: A Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers Publication.

Knisely, K. and Wind, S. (2015). Gendered language attitudes: Exploring language as a gendered construct using Rasch measurement theory. Journal of Applied Measurement 16(1), 95-112.

Recent Courses

FREN 160A1 The French Speaking World

FREN 280 Introduction to French Language, Linguistics, and Culture

FREN 301 Pronunciation and Conversation

FREN/AFAS 373 US and Francophone Hip-Hop Cultures

FREN 498 Capstone

FREN/HUMS 583 Materials Design