NYU’s Maison Française Hosts Special Events in October

La Maison Française of New York University, located at 16 Washington Mews (at University Place), will host several special events in October, including a celebration of Germaine Brée, founder of La Maison Française, on October 16. All events are free and open to the public. For further information, call 212.998.8750, or visit www.nyu.edu/maisonfrancaise.

A schedule of events follows:

• Monday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m. Concert: “Promenade avec Gertrude Stein” with Sylvie Robert, soprano, and Dimitri Vassilakis, piano. Works by Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Nadia Boulanger, Francis Poulenc, and others. Reservations are suggested: 212.998.8750.
• Wednesday, Oct. 3, 6:30 p.m. Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “Violence en France: L’evolution des réalités et des représentations” by sociologist Laurent Mucchielli. In French.
• Tuesday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. Lecture: “Finding a Common Stage: Medieval Arras and the History of Theater” by Carol Symes, University of Illinois.
• Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. Discussion: “French Filmmaking and Globalization” with Arnaud Desplechin, contemporary French director (In the Company of Men), and Jean-Michel Frodon, editor-in-chief, Cahiers du Cinéma.
• Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. Round Table: “A Celebration of René Char (1907-1988)” with Mary Ann Caws, CUNY; Sandra Bermann, Princeton; Nancy Piore, Barnard; and Michael Wood, Princeton. Char, the French poet who began as a Surrealist but became a master of poetic brevity after his experience in the French Resistance, is discussed.
• Friday, Oct. 12, 8 p.m. Concert: works by François Couperin, Darius Milhaud, Henri Dutilleux, and Claude Debussy, with Jayn Rosenfeld, flute, and Bernard Rose, piano. Reservations are suggested: 212.998.8750.
• Tuesday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. Centennial Celebration: “Germaine Brée 1907-2007”. The founder of NYU’s Maison Française and author of many works including Camus, André Gide, Marcel Proust, and Camus and Sartre: Crisis and Commitment is celebrated. Participants include Tom Bishop, NYU; Georges Borchardt, literary agent and president, Georges Borchardt, Inc.; Mary Ann Caws, CUNY; Tom Conley, Harvard; Lawrence Kritzman, Dartmouth; and David Noakes, former director, La Maison Française.
• Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m. Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “Feminist Perspectives on the Politics of Childhood in France” by historian Laura Lee Downs, author of Childhood in the Promised Land.
• Thursday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. Lecture: “Collecting the Indian Ocean” by Larry W. Bowman, professor emeritus, University of Connecticut. A discussion of Bowman’s collection of books, periodicals, maps, and other materials on the Indian Ocean littoral - from Cape Town to Fremantle, with a focus on Mauritius and Seychelles. The collection was recently acquired by NYU Libraries.
• Monday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. Conversation: “French Literature in the Making” with novelist Claude Arnaud, author of Le Caméléon, winner of Prix Femina du premier roman, and Olivier Barrot, journalist, “Un Livre un jour” (France 3).
• Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m. Conversation: literary agent Georges Borchardt, founder and president, Georges Borchardt, Inc., and Rachel Donadio, writer and editor, New York Times Book Review, discuss Borchardt’s career in publishing; he is responsible for the publication of over 2,000 translations from the French.
• Monday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. Lecture: “The Other Side of the Square: Post-World War II French Art Scenes and All That Jazz!!” by Serge Guilbaut, University of British Columbia; author, How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art. Co-sponsored with the Grey Art Gallery and organized in conjunction with the exhibition, “The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia de Cisneros Collection.”
• Wednesday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m. Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “La France: une identité nationale ou une identité démocratique?” by Vincent Duclert, Stony Brook University.