Fonds F2228 - Mireille Calle-Gruber fonds

Mireille Calle-Gruber was born on the 29 April 1945, in Figeac, Lot, France. The daughter of Leon and Georgette (Lacipière) Calle, she attended University of Grenoble where she received a Bachelor of Arts in French and Comparative Literature in 1966, and a B.A. in Italian, the following year. In 1974, she was granted a Doctor of Philosophy in French Literature by the University of Montpellier. Her thesis, entitled, Thèmes et images du labyrinthe dans le Nouveau Roman: Michel Butor, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Claude Simon, set the stage for much of her thinking and writing in the years to follow. In 1987, she received a Doctorat d'État in French Literature from the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes, following her exploration of L'effet-fiction. Pour une théorie de l'illusion romanesque.

In 1971, while still attending Montpellier, Mireille Calle held posts with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During her time there, she filled the position of Professeur certifié Lectrice in the French Department at the University of Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, from 1971 to 1974; was Professeur certifié in the Department of French at the Cultural Centre and French School of Cairo, Egypt, from 1973 to 1977; was the Assistant Director of Italian-French Culture at the University of Pescara, Italy, from 1977 to 1983; and was Adjunct Director of the Cultural Institute at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, from 1983 to 1989.

Dr. Calle-Gruber left Foreign Affairs in 1989, to take a Queen's National Scholar position, in the Department of French Studies, at Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario. At the conclusion of the QNS, she accepted a tenured position in the Department and remained on faculty until her retirement from the University, as a full professor, in 1999. Dr. Calle-Gruber is currently Co-Director of the Department of Feminist Studies at the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes.

During her time at Queen's University, Dr. Calle-Gruber taught a full range of courses in the Department of French Studies, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and supervised numerous Masters and Doctoral candidates. Her focus of research and teaching centred on the "noveau roman" and dealt with theory and illusion in autobiographical novels and the subject of writing. She is also very interested in contemporary twentieth-century French and francophone literature, both in its textual and cinematic forms.

Dr. Calle-Gruber takes the traditional triad of the academic very seriously. Apart from her teaching responsibilities, for which she was justifiably honoured on several occasions (she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award (1991) and the Excellence in Research Prize (1996), by Queen's University), she has published widely and often -- author or co-author of over a dozen books including Arabesque, 1985; Midis, 1992; La Ville de Michel Butor, 1995; Les Partitions de Claude Ollier, 1996; La Division de l'Intérieu, 1996; and Photos de racines, 1994. She also has well over one hundred articles in refereed journals exploring various aspects of feminism, the autobiography, and the identity of language. Dr. Calle-Gruber is also a video film-maker and has produced works on Alain Robbe-Grillet, Michel Butor, Jacques Derrida, and Hélène Cixous. (A list of her published works in all media is appended to this finding aid.)

Mireille Calle-Gruber has also served on numerous committees within Queen's University; has been involved with many granting bodies, organisations and associations on a national and international level; is often invited by academic institutions as guest lecturer or visiting scholar; and is regularly called upon to present papers and sit on panels at conferences and colloquia, both in this country and around the world.

For her efforts, she has deservedly been honoured over the years by such august bodies as
the French government (Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Acadèmiques (1995); the Royal Society of Canada (Fellow 1997); and the Centre National des Lettres in Paris (2000). Dr. Calle-Gruber is now Professor Emeritus, in the Department of French Studies, at Queen's University at Kingston.

On 22 August 1972, Mireille Calle married Eberhard, son of Hermann and Friedel
Gruber. They have no children.