Navrotskaya holding a giant cucumber.
Courtesy | Anna Navrotskaya
In this Quick Hits, Associate Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya talks wooden clogs, her cats, and her love of the French language.
If you could introduce or bring back any fashion trend, what would it be?
Wooden clogs. I love everything medieval, and also, I can just see (and enjoy seeing) the students’ faces when they hear their professor “toc-toc-toc” in the hallway. Imagine that!
Where would you travel if you could go anywhere you hadn’t been before?
I would love to go to Bhutan. While we measure the gross national product, they measure the gross national happiness. I wish I knew how! And it is astoundingly beautiful.
What does the perfect Saturday afternoon look like for you?
My armchair (shared with my dogs — all three of us fit there when I work), my notebook (I prefer writing by hand), and a good cup of coffee. And time: Two to three hours when I could read and write without feeling guilty doing it.
Why are you passionate about the French language?
It’s love! And according to Blaise Pascal, “Love has its reasons that reason does not know.” No other language gives me immense pleasure by simply speaking it, turning a phrase this way or that, discovering a hidden gem under a seemingly logical structure. My students know: I finish every grammar explanation with “Is it logical”? It is not always, obviously — but isn’t it beautiful? And, of course, French and France have a special place in the heart of every Russian. Just read Tolstoy!
What’s your favorite song?
One of my favorites: “I’ll Be Gone” by Tom Waits. What a voice!
What advice do you have for students considering the French major?
Don’t be afraid to make a mistake! A mistake can be fixed; it should never be in your way of being in love — just like your professors — with the texts, films, history, food, art, even politics that infuriate us so often. It’s a treasure chest that you can never get tired of exploring. A life is not enough! And you are just beginning — you are so lucky.
What’s an unpopular opinion you have?
I think, as individuals and as responsible members of the society, we must find a way to hear each other even if our opinions differ and cannot be brought to a common denominator. I don’t believe in culture wars: they don’t lead to victories; they lead to violence.
What’s the hardest part about teaching French?
Teaching what you love is not hard.
What is your favorite time of year here at Hillsdale?
Autumn, even when it becomes gray and muddy. I am from St. Petersburg: gray skies and rain are my home. Then the beauty of colors and my dogs jumping in the leaves, when it is a sunny day. But one needs gray to appreciate color, and autumn gives you both.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
It was something my grandmother told me just a few days before she passed away. She kept her sharp mind until the very end, and I was by her side all those days. She told me to do what I wanted right away, without waiting for a “good moment,” be it practical or not. There might never be a good moment, and we don’t want to leave from this world regretting pages not written, places not seen, books not read.
Is it too early to listen to Christmas music?
Of course not! My cousin’s family one day decided not to take away Christmas decorations from their yard. Imagine going home in June and seeing Christmas lights. It makes your soul smile.
What’s an old book more people should read, and why?
The essays of Michel de Montaigne. He thought, considered, analyzed, and wrote about everything that is important to a human being. And often sarcastically (just check his remarks about doctors). He also gave the best definition of friendship, writing about his friend Étienne de La Boétie and why he loved him: “Because it was he, because it was I.” Nothing more is needed, and nothing is more important than a true friendship.
Do you have any pets?
I have two cats, both black: Queenie is an old girl whose nasty character is so famous that one of our former neighbors once composed an ode in her honor; and Behemoth (so named after the black cat in “Master and Margarita”) who joined us this August. He has one eye and no tail, and the most endearing personality. And I also have two dogs (or they have me?): Roxy, whom we adopted three years ago, and Birch, a rescue dog, who arrived from North Carolina last month. Clearly, I need more cats.
