**These events have been canceled.**
La Maison Française is pleased to announce a robust series of events in March. The President of the National Library of France, Laurence Engel, delivers a lecture on French cultural policy (March 4); the ongoing series Machines à écrire considers the rise of geographically specific literature (March 23); and famed economist Thomas Piketty, a visiting professor at NYU’s Institute of French Studies, engages in a roundtable discussion about the role ideology plays on inequality (March 24). See the full calendar below for more details.
All events are held at La Maison Française, which is located at 16 Washington Mews (between University Place and Fifth Avenue). They are free, open to the public, and in English unless otherwise noted. Seating for free events is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 212.998.8750 or visit La Maison Française’s website.
Please note: Per NYU's update, certain events have been canceled. They are noted accordingly below.
*THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED*
Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 p.m.
What Can Culture Do? French Cultural Policy as Model
A talk featuring Laurence Engel, President of the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Friday, March 6, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Scholars and Their Kin: A Symposium
A growing number of scholars are making their own relatives the object of study. These personal family histories mark a significant shift in scholarly practice and writing, with far-reaching methodological, political, and ethical implications. Scholars and Their Kin is one of the first symposia to bring together scholars who are presently writing in this vein or have recently done so.
This conversation between historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and literary/cultural critics will address far-reaching questions framed around the family as an object of study, modes and forms of scholarly writing, the recovery of lost or forgotten histories (with special attention to race, religion, and gender), the study of emotions and intimacy, questions of scale, familial memory and transmission, as well as history and genealogy. Participants will also discuss the institutional frameworks in which—depending on their background, field, and stage in career—scholars are encouraged (or not) to write such histories.
Speakers include Edward Ball (independent scholar), Christine Bard (Angers), Ed Berenson (NYU), Marnix Beyern (Antwerp), Christine Détrez (ENS-Lyon), Carolyn Dinshaw (NYU), Kendra Field (Tufts), Stéphane Gerson (NYU), Tao Goffe (Cornell), Leslie Harris (Northwestern), Marianne Hirsch (Columbia), Martha Hodes (NYU), Ivan Jablonka (Paris 13), Martha Jones (Johns Hopkins), Claudio Lomnitz (Columbia), Amy Moran (MIT), Leo Spitzer (Dartmouth), Frédéric Viguier (NYU).
Registration is required: RSVP here in advance. The full schedule is available here.
Organized by Stéphane Gerson (NYU), and sponsored by NYU Institute of French Studies. Co-sponsored by Office of the Provost; Departments of French Literature, Thought, and Culture; History; Comparative Literature; Anthropology; Social and Cultural Analysis; La Maison Française; Center for European and Mediterranean Studies.
*THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED*
Monday, March 23, 7:00 p.m.
Machines à écrire: Écrire en terre inconnue
As part of the ongoing French language lecture series, Machines à écrire, Aurélien Bellanger will be in conversation with Frédérique Aït-Touati.
Bellanger is the author of La Théorie de l’information; L’Aménagement du territoire (Prix de Flore); Le Grand Paris; and Le Continent de la douceur. Aït-Touati is a literary scholar, philosopher, and theater director, as well as the author of Histoires et savoirs; Le Monde en images; and Terra Forma.
This event made possible through the support of the Florence Gould Foundation.
Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 p.m.
Thomas Piketty: Beyond Hyper-Capitalism. How Ideology Buttresses Inequalities, and What to Do About It
Economist Thomas Piketty’s urgent new book, Capital and Ideology, explores the deep roots of social inequalities and advocates for a “participatory socialism” that resists hyper-capitalism. In this Institute of French Studies roundtable, Piketty will be in conversation with political theorist Nancy Fraser and activist Alexandra Rojas. The director of NYU’s Institute of French Studies, Stéphane Gerson, will moderate.
The event will take place at NYU Skirball (566 LaGuardia Place). Reservations are required. More information is available here.
Support from NYU’s Office of the Provost, Ford Foundation, La Maison Française, GSAS, and NYU’s Humanities and Social Science divisions.
Thursday, March 26, 7:00 p.m.
Europa’s Opera: Three Acts
Vertical Player Repertory presents Le Pauvre Matelot, a full opera by Darius Milhaud (1927) and excerpts from Les Mamelles de Tirésias by Francis Poulenc (1947) at La Maison Française of NYU.
Europa’s Opera: Three Acts is a collaboration among NYU’s International Houses—Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, Deutsches Haus at NYU, and La Maison Française of NYU— showcasing productions by three of New York City’s most innovative opera companies.
In the late 16th century, in what could be described as a revolutionary act, a group of intellectuals, from an array of different backgrounds, gathered to conceive a musical art form that would update the supposed ancient Greek practice of comprehensibly setting words to music. This method of reciting through song (recitar cantando) expanded very quickly throughout the European continent, reaching the ears and hearts of people normally separated by country, class, language, and gender.
Europa’s Opera: Three Acts draws upon this rich history and has included semi-staged productions by Philip Shneidman’s The Little Opera Theatre of New York (at Deutsches Haus at NYU), by Dorian Bandy (at NYU’s Casa Italiana) and by Judith Barnes’ Vertical Player Repertory. These performances and an in-depth moderated conversation among the producers aim to demonstrate the power of art and music to transcend national borders, and to act as a binding force, uniting people in a shared experience and common cause.
Please be advised: This event is fully booked, but in the case that some RSVPs cancel, walk-ins will be accepted beginning 10 minutes prior.
Friday, March 27, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Race is about Politics: Lessons from History
In his original and provocative book, Race Is about Politics: Lessons from History, the acclaimed historian Jean-Frédéric Schaub argues that we need to rethink the widespread assumption that racism is essentially a modern form of discrimination based on skin color and other visible differences. Moving from the early modern period until today, Schaub argues that to understand racism we must look at historical episodes of collective discrimination in which there was no visible difference between people. Built around notions of identity and otherness, race is above all a political tool that must be understood in the context of its historical origins.
Participants include: Schaub (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales); with commentaries by Claudio Lomnitz (Columbia University), Edward Berenson (NYU), Rebecca Goetz (NYU), and Sinclair Thomson (NYU).
Sponsored by the Department of History and the Institute of French Studies.
*THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED*
Monday, March 30, 7:00 p.m.
Des femmes en littérature: un récit nécessaire
This round table focuses on women and Francophonie literature from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century. Participants include: Martine Reid (Université de Lille); Christie McDonald (Harvard University); and Jacqueline Cerquiglini-Toulet (Sorbonne Université).
In French and English. Sponsored by La Maison Française and the Department of French Literature, Thought, and Culture.
Editor’s Note
For over six decades, La Maison Française of New York University has served as a major forum for French-American cultural and intellectual exchange, offering contemporary perspectives on myriad French and Francophone issues. Its rich program of lectures, symposia, concerts, screenings, exhibitions, and special events provides an invaluable resource to the university community, as well as the general public. For more, please visit nyu.edu/maisonfrancaise.