by Perry Gethner
Christine McCall Probes, who passed away on November 14, 2021, at the age of 78, was a pillar of the French early modern studies community and particularly of the NASSCFL society. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she took her B.A. from Huntingdon College in that city. Following research and study at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the Université de Strasbourg, she earned a Ph.D. from Tulane University. It was there that she met her husband, the Rev. Dr. Harold Probes, who would have a distinguished career as a Presbyterian pastor.Their marriage lasted 46 years, until his death.
Christine’s first full-time position was at Florida Atlantic University, but because she chose to follow her husband in his various moves, her teaching during her early years in the profession was limited to interim or part-time positions: these were at Mississippi College in Clinton, and later at the University of South Florida in Tampa. In 1987 she resumed full-time teaching at the University of South Florida, where she obtained a tenure-track position. She would rise through the ranks, reaching that of full Professor in 2008. She would also fill various administrative roles, including two four-year terms as Associate Chair in the Division of Languages and Linguistics, a year as interim Chair, and four years as Associate Director of the Humanities Institute.
As a researcher, Christine had multiple areas of specialization, focusing primarily on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her preferred topics were religious literature (poets and orators; her dissertation was on La Ceppède), the Princesse Palatine, emblems, and women writers. She maintained an exceptional rhythm of conference presentations, sometimes doing as many as seven in a given year. She was frequently invited to give guest lectures, some of them in France. The last of these, on May 28 of this year, was an invited keynote address at the NASSCFL (North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature) conference, held virtually. Perhaps the highest honor she received was that of Chevalière in France’s Ordre des Palmes Académiques.
Her service to the profession was exemplary. She served for several decades as a contributing editor to the Bibliography of French Seventeenth Century Studies, as part of an 8-10 person team that published that series under the sponsorship of the MLA. She co-edited a multivolume collection of conference proceedings, organized numerous sessions at conferences and in some cases edited the published versions, reviewed manuscripts for various journals and monograph series. On the local level, she served on the Board of Directors of Tampa’s Alliance Française, and did outreach for French in her area. She served as an officer and/or on the executive council for multiple scholarly organizations: MLA, South Atlantic MLA, South Central MLA, SE17 (Interdisciplinary Society for 17th-Century French Studies), and NASSCFL; for this last society, she served as Secretary from 1987 until her death. She was also active with the international French studies honor society, Phi Sigma Iota; she organized USF’s local chapter in 1991, and she would go on to serve six years as Vice President of the organization.
In addition to her bibliographical work, Christine published dozens of articles and book chapters on a wide variety of topics. Always clear and well written, these publications testify to her meticulous research, talent for insightful close readings, and willingness to explore interdisciplinary subjects. But most of all she will be remembered for her personal qualities: a warm, friendly, generous personality, with the ability to put colleagues of all ages at ease. She was a wonderful human being and scholar, and she will be greatly missed.
Perry Gethner, Oklahoma State University