President’s Welcome 2026
Dear friends and colleagues of the ASFS,
As I write this welcome message for 2026, poised as we are to commence a new academic year, the world is coming to terms with a new escalation of violence in the Middle East. The likely scale and consequences of this conflict are, for the time being, largely unknown. After decades of relative calm brought about by the post-WW2 world order, the establishment of NATO and the EU, the Cold War, and what for the most part was a shift towards a more progressive, outward-looking, and inclusive Western society, we now find ourselves living in an era defined by political, military, economic, and social instability. One of several driving forces behind this shift is the decline of the United States of America as a respected, democratic, and stable world power. The current administration of the United States places an aggressive and expansionist self-interest at the core of its priorities. The world has experienced the endgame of this kind of insular nationalism before.
A key part of the strategy to undermine democracy and establish an autocratic regime is governmental control of the media, technology, cultural institutions, and education. Media conglomerates, museums, and renowned universities in the US have fallen victim to the demands of an administration seeking to control the national narrative not only in relation to the present, but also to the past and future. A particular brand of authoritarian ideology has seen Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents abducting US citizens off the streets simply for speaking Spanish. The uproar from the right over the choice of the Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican-American singer Bad Bunny to perform in the halftime show at the 2026 NFL Super Bowl is indicative of a crisis of national identity that refuses linguistic and cultural diversity.
As scholars of French and Francophone Studies, in solidarity with our colleagues in other modern language disciplines, our teaching, research, and community engagement have never been more important. We uphold the values of a liberal society encouraging freedom of expression in all its forms. We offer our students the opportunity to reflect broadly on the state of the world and their place in it. We teach that there are more ways than one to interpret meaning and to engage critically with art, literature, the media, and political discourse. We encourage our students to think for themselves, to consider alternate viewpoints, and to learn how to think rather than what to think.
In recent years, the ASFS has lobbied admirably, and in many cases effectively, against the proposed closure of modern language departments in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the UK. Let us continue to uphold the values of freedom of expression, tolerance, open-mindedness, inclusion, and diversity that allow societies and individuals to thrive.
For details of the planned ASFS initiatives for 2026, including the conference extravaganza that awaits us in Canberra in November, please refer to the ASFS Digest sent out to all members of the Society at the beginning of each month.
Wishing you all a rewarding academic year in 2026,
A/Prof Andrew McGregor
President, Australian Society for French Studies