C. Kenneth Keffer
H.W. Stodghill, Jr. and Adele H. Stodghill Professor of French and German, Emeritus
Education
BA: French and English, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
MA: romance languages, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
PhD: romance languages, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Expertise
Languages: French and German; French literature and history; Michel de Montaigne; Patriotism
BIOGRAPHY
Ken Keffer retired in 2016 as emeritus professor of modern languages at Centre College, where he had taught since 1979. He held the Stodghill Professorship in Modern Languages since its inception in 2004.
STUDY AND TEACHING ABROAD
Keffer has spent 5 years in Europe serving as the teacher and director of Centre’s residential study-abroad programs in Strasbourg and in London. He was a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in Germany for a year and has pursued advanced research at locations in France, Germany, and Spain.
A gifted and innovative teacher of languages who has spent a year as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in Germany and two one-year stints as teacher-director of Centre’s residential study-abroad program in Strasbourg, France. Encourages everyday use of foreign language by having his students plant gardens, shop, and take boat rides together, speaking only French.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
Since 2002 Keffer has devoted his “Art of Walking” courses to the study of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment. In the summer of 2012, he began reading Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time in German, French, and English, the topic of future writing and research. Keffer has published scholarly articles in French and English and an award-winning book (Mellen, 2001) on Montaigne’s Essays. This book was translated and published in French under the title Montaigne For Ever in 2005 (Editions Champion).
AWARDS
In 2010, Keffer was named the 2010 Kentucky Professor the Year by The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Keffer received Centre’s “Rookie of the Year Award” in his first year at Centre and in 1988 and in 2010 received the David Hughes Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching.