La Maison Française of New York University, located at 16 Washington Mews (at University Place), will host several special events in March, including a preview of New York City Opera’s production of Chabrier’s “L’Etoile,” on Tues., March 2 at 7 p.m. All events are free and take place at La Maison Française, unless otherwise noted. For further information, call 212.998.8750 or visit www.nyu.edu/maisonfrancaise.
La Maison Française of New York University, located at 16 Washington Mews (at University Place), will host several special events in March, including a preview of New York City Opera’s production of Chabrier’s “L’Etoile,” on Tues., March 2 at 7 p.m. All events are free and 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:
Mon., March 1, 7 p.m.
French Literature in the Making: Linda Lê, novelist, author of Calomnies; Les Dits d’un idiot; Les Trois Parques; Lettre morte; Voix; Les Aubes; Autres Jeux avec le Feu; Personne; In Memoriam in conversation with Olivier Barrot, journalist and host of Un livre un jour (France 3 TV). In French.
Tues., March 2, 7 p.m.
Opera Event: Preview at NYU’s Maison Française of New York City Opera’s production of Emanuel Chabrier’s L’Etoile, featuring musical selections and discussion of the 1877 opéra-bouffe, with cast members Julie Boulianne, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, and François Loup; associate director Alain Gauthier; and conductor Emmanuel Plasson.
Note: Tickets: $10, general admission, limited space. Please reserve at www.nycopera.com or by calling 212.870.5643.
Thurs., March 4, 7 p.m.
Lecture: Judith Butler, professor of rhetoric and comparative literature, University of California, Berkeley, and Catherine Malabou, philosopher, professor, Université de Paris X-Nanterre, “A Dialogue on New French Philosophy.” Lecture sponsored by the NYU Humanities Initiative. Note venue: Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East.
Mon., March 8, 7:30 p.m.
Concert: Alliance Players, in a program celebrating Maurice Ravel’s birthday and featuring the Sonata for Violin and Cello and the Piano Trio. With Nurit Pacht, director, Alliance Players, violin; Caroline Stinson, cello; Priya Mayadas, piano.
Tickets: $20; $10 with student ID. For reservations, call 212.998.8750 or email maison.francaise@nyu.edu.
Tues., March 9, 7 p.m.
Discussion: “The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Queen of Crime’s French Connections,” with Joan Schenkar, playwright, biographer, author of the recently published The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (St. Martin’s Press), in conversation with Judith Miller, NYU.
Wed., March 10, 7 p.m.
Colloquium: “Rethinking Nineteenth-Century French Studies: New Approaches to the Press.” While the press has long interested students of French politics and culture, younger scholars are revisiting it with new questions and methodological approaches. Three of them discuss sexual scandals, liberal subjectivity, crime writing, mass media, the interface between journalism and fiction, and colonial power. Featurning Aaron Freundschuh, Princeton University; Judith Surkis, Harvard University; Marie-Eve Therenty, Université de Montpellier III, visiting professor, NYU; moderated by Stéphane Gerson, NYU.
Thurs., March 11, 6:30 p.m.
Fales Lecture: “Continental Philosophy and American Culture:
Semiotext(e) between Philosophy, Art and Politics—A Celebration.” The 2010 Fales Lecture celebrates the acquisition of the Sylvère Lotringer Papers and Semiotext(e) Archive. Sylvère Lotringer, co-founder of Semiotext(e), professor emeritus, Columbia University; Gregg Bordowitz, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Lynne Tillman, University of Albany; Avital Ronell, NYU; Tim Griffin, editor, Artforum; Emily Apter, NYU (moderator); Denis Hollier, NYU (respondent). Note venue: Fales Library, Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, 3rd floor.
Sat., March 13 & Tues., March 16
Film Series: “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, 2010” presents screenings
of new French films in cooperation with Unifrance, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, BAM, and the IFC Center. Note location for the two screenings co-sponsored by NYU's Maison Française: IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at West 3rd St. Tickets: $15; $11 with NYU ID (for these showings only). Call 212.924.7771.
Sat., March 13, 4 p.m.: The Hedgehog (Le Hérisson): 2009, 100 min, in French with English subtitles. A timely fable about Paloma, a young girl bent on ending it all before she becomes an adult, who learns a thing or two about life from her building’s coarse, unkempt concierge (Josiane Balasko). Based on Muriel Barbery’s novel. Screening followed by a Q&A with director Mona Achache.
Tues., March 17, 7 p.m.: Restless (Le Bel Age): 2009, 97 min, in French with English subtitles. Claire, a tomboyish teenager feeling the stirrings of first love, and her grandfather, Maurice (Michel Piccoli), a former Resistance fighter, share a house but soon discover much else as well. Screening followed by Q&A with director Laurent Perreau.
Wed., March 24, 7 p.m.
Lecture: “Talking with Sartre,” with John Gerassi, professor of political science, Queens College, CUNY. Activist, journalist, and educator Gerassi has recently published the record of talks with Sartre (a close friend of Gerassi’s parents) about the history of the revolutionary movements of the mid-20th century, what it means to be a writer, and his perspectives on the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the disintegration of colonialism.
Thurs., March 25, 7 p.m.
Institute of French Studies Colloquium: “Can Islam be French,” with John Bowen, professor of anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis; author of Can Islam be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State and Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves.
Wed., March 31, 7 p.m.
Discussion: “Enlightenment, Difference, and the Postcolonial,” featuring Achille Mbembe, research professor in history and politics, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, senior researcher, Wits Institute for Social And Economic Research (WISER); visiting professor, Duke University and Franklin Humanities Institute Research Scholar; author of La naissance du maquis dans le Sud-Cameroun; On the Postcolony. With responses by Emily Apter (NYU) and Clifford Siskin (NYU).