Viola Sachs was a Professor of American Literature at "Université de Paris VIII, France". As a specialist of Herman Melville, she conducted research and studies for the decoding of Melville's master works. She created the Laboratory of Research on American "Imaginaire" (SIAM) in the early eighties at the University of Paris VIII (Département Anglo-Américain). Today, SIAM's research programs are continuing with the "Résonance Group" of the University of Paris VIII.