2016-2017 Annual Project
The project Confrontation and Aftermath, organized by Dr Gayle Zachmann, initiates a series of conversations revisiting war, cultural production and memory in and of France. Spearheaded by the French and Francophone Studies section of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and crossing international and disciplinary borders, the endeavor brings together a substantial year-long program readdressing World Wars I and II from a multitude of perspectives. Focusing on resistance, emancipatory movements and ideological renewals, as well as transatlantic and Mediterranean relations with France, activities are designed to provide depth as well as breadth, and all events underscore the significance of images and memory of France, French cultural production and Franco-American relations. Events proposed range from the study of film, literature and popular culture, to historical discussions revisiting themes including: Post World War I Paris; Africans and African Americans Soldiers during WW I in France; War, Race and Religions; the Avant-Gardes and Franco-American cultural exchange; Intellectual Resistance and Emancipatory impulses, Censorship, War and Diaspora; Heritage Discourses and Visual Culture; Occupation Literature; and Representations of War.