Julie Papaioannou’s research focus is on African film aesthetics and criticism. She is currently working on a manuscript with the tentative title ‘Representing Women in African Film: Outcasts, Survivors, Warriors' in which she investigates narrative and aestetic modes of women representation and identity in French-speaking African film at the intersection of Western and African feminist discourses. Along these lines, Papaioannou reevaluates African cinema aesthetics by addressing the theoretical complexities that have shaped African film criticism and the ‘Francophone film.’ Particular focus is also drawn on women filmmakers who often find themselves at the intersection of Western and African feminist discourses.

Broader research interests include mid-nineteenth century to fin de siècle France, the production of literature by the African diaspora in France, and French-speaking films in the Caribbean and Québec.

• “The Polyvalent Aesthetics of African Cinema: dealing with history.” Submitted to a collection of essays with the preliminary title “The Changing Aesthetics of African Cinema” (Sada Niang, Sheila Petty, Alexie Tcheuyap, editors)
• “From Orality to Visuality: The Question of Aesthetics in African Cinema.” Renewal in African Cinema: Aesthetics and Ideology, Journal of African Cinemas 1.2 2009.
• “Reel” Fiction in Cameroonian Cinema: The Postcolonial Re-shaping of Cultural Reality” in Cinema and Social Discourse in Cameroon, Alexie Tcheuyap (Ed.) Bayreuth African Studies, Vol. 69

Courses in Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced French language, French literature 19th and 20th c., Francophone literature and film.

• Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced French (multiple semesters)
• Immigration in French Literature and Film (Spring 2013)
• Women Writing in French (Fall 2012)
• French in Film: Africa, Caribbean, Québec (Spring 2012)
• Introduction to Literature in French (Spring 2008, 2010)
• Francophone Cinema (Fall 2008)
• Colonial France: 19th to 20th century (Spring 2008)
• Littérature de l’immigration (Fall 2007)

• CTLTR Grant-University Information Technology/ Spring 2010, University of Rochester, Created a web-based application for French language instruction
• Burton Research Grant/Spring 1999, University of Rochester/Modern Languages and Cultures, Research grant to attend the Panafrican Film and Television Festival (FESPACO) in Burkina Faso, Africa.