La Maison Française of New York University, located at 16 Washington Mews, at University Place, will host several special events in April, including a lecture by author Michel Butor on April 27, which it co-sponsors on the occasion of the NYU Fales Collection exhibition “Une Amitié Transatlantique: Michel Butor and Elinor Miller.” All events, which are free and open to the public, take place at La Maison Française, unless otherwise noted. For further information call 212.998.8750 or visit www.nyu.edu/maisonfrancaise.
A schedule of events follows:
Tues., Apr. 4, 7 p.m. Lecture: “Shame, AIDS, and Gay Spirituality” by Leo Bersani, University of California, Berkeley; author of Forms of Being; The Culture of Redemption. Note venue: NYU’s Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, 60 Washington Square South.
Wed., Apr. 5, 6:30 p.m. Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “The Levinas Effect” by Richard Wolin, historian, Graduate Center, CUNY.
Thurs., Apr. 6, 7 p.m. Roundtable: “War, Sex, Empire: Military Cultures in Nineteenth Century France” with David Bell, Johns Hopkins University; Brigitte Mahuzier, Bryn Mawr; Brian Martin, Williams College; Stephane Gerson, NYU.
Tues., Apr. 11, 5:30 p.m. Jurow Lecture: “The Power of Evil and the Power of Love” by Leo Bersani, University of California, Berkeley; author of The Freudian Body; Psychoanalysis and Art. Note venue: NYU’s Silver Center, Hemmerdinger, 100 Washington Square East.
Thurs., Apr. 13, 7 p.m. Lecture: “How Can One Recognize What One Did Not Know? Mnemosyne and the Art of the Twentieth Century” by Mauro Carboni, author of The Thinking of the Sensible: Merleau-Ponty’s A-Philosophy.
Tues., Apr. 18, 7 p.m. Lecture: “Je t’aime, moi non plus: le divorce franco-amércain est-il une comédie du remariage?” by Philippe Roger, CNRS and EHESS; author of L’Ennemi amércain: généalogie de l’antiaméricanisme français. In French.
Wed., Apr. 19, 6:30 p.m. Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “Le Non français au référendum sur le traité constitutionnel européen” by Pascal Perrineau, political scientist; author of Le Vote européen 2004-2005, de l’élargissement au référendum français. In French.
Thurs., Apr. 20, 7 p.m. Florence Gould Lecture: “Samuel Beckett: From French to English and Back” by Tom Bishop, NYU; author of From the Left Bank: Reflections on the Modern French Theater and Novel. A Samuel Beckett Centennial Event.
Apr. 26-27 Wed. - Thurs. PEN World Voices: The New York Festival of International Literature. La Maison Française events include novelist Jorge Semprun in conversation with author Norman Manea on April 26 at noon; author Lydie Salvayre in conversation with novelist Rick Moody on April 26 at 4 p.m.; and author Raymond Federman reading from Retour au fumier on April 27 at noon. For other festival events, visit www.pen.org.
Thurs., Apr. 27, 5:30 p.m. Lecture by Michel Butor, author of La Modification; Portrait de l’artiste en jeune singe; Les Mots dans la peinture. On the occasion of the Fales Collection exhibition “Une Amitié Transatlantique: Michel Butor and Elinor Miller.” Miller was one of the most prominent American scholars of Butor’s work. Her 30-year correspondence with the author has been donated to Fales, along with her outstanding collection of his books. Note venue: NYU Fales Collection, 3rd floor of Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South.