SMLC - News and events

Oliver Davis and Chris Watkin co-hosted a major virtual colloquium in July on 'The Ends of Autonomy'. The conference had over 100 registered participants from all continents of the world. Recordings of some of the papers can be accessed here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/research/french/currentprojects/beyondautonomy/warwick. Oliver and Chris will host a second Monash colloquium on the same theme on December 15 and 16 2020.

Philippe Le Goff has just published with Bloomsbury a major new book on the nineteenth-century French political activist and leader Auguste Blanqui.

Few individuals made such an impact on nineteenth-century French politics as Louis-Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881). Political organiser, leader, propagandist and prisoner, Blanqui was arguably the foremost proponent of popular power to emerge after the French Revolution. Practical engagement in all the major uprisings that spanned the course of his life - 1830, 1848, 1870-71 - was accompanied by theoretical reflections on a broad range of issues, from free will and fatalism to public education and individual development. Since his death, however, Blanqui has not been simply overlooked or neglected; his name has widely become synonymous with theoretical misconception and practical misadventure. Auguste Blanqui and the Politics of Popular Empowerment offers a major re-evaluation of one the most controversial figures in the history of revolutionary politics. The book draws extensively on Blanqui's manuscripts and published works, as well as writings only recently translated into English for the first time. Through a detailed reconstruction and critical analysis of Blanqui's political thought, it challenges the prevailing image of an unthinking insurrectionist and rediscovers a forceful and compelling theory of collective political action and radical social change. It suggests that some of Blanqui's fundamental assumptions - from the insistence on the primacy of subjective determination to the rejection of historical necessity - are still relevant to politics today.

Professor Jim Shields discussed Macron’s government reshuffle and presidential reset in the France 24 Debate and News; he gave interviews to the Colombian daily Portafolio and online news site The Local (here and here) and had columns published in the Spanish daily La Razón on France’s municipal elections, rounds one and two.

We've now got an SMLC LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13877964

The hope is that it will allow languages alumni to share their experiences of professional life after Warwick with fellow alumni and to offer advice and tips to current students. Join now!

Head of School Kate Astbury has an end of term message for finalists. You can listen to it here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/news/img_5704.mp4

We'll provide details of a virtual celebration of the end of term and of degree results in due course.

Stay safe, stay in touch and have a good summer.

Head of School Kate Astbury has an end of term message for intermediate-year students. You can listen to it here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/news/img_5703.mp4

We gathered together some ideas for keeping up language learning for our offer holders but many work for more advanced linguists too - take a look: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/applying/offerholder

Stay safe and have a good summer.

Head of School Kate Astbury has an end of term message for first years. You can listen to it here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/news/img_5702.mp4

We gathered together some ideas for keeping up language learning for our offer holders but many work for more advanced linguists too - take a look: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/applying/offerholder

We'll provide more suggestions of preparatory reading for year 2 in due course.

Stay safe and have a good summer.

Faculty of Arts at Home is a series of videos that will be produced by the faculty during lockdown and beyond. It showcases the diversity of our research in relation to a series of overarching themes and will involve colleagues from across the Faculty.

SMLC head of School update 9th April

Watch Hartmut Rosa's lecture from Friday 21^st February 2020

Professor Jim Shields gave interviews to the Colombian daily Portafolio and to France 24 on Brexit, Rachida Dati’s Paris mayoral bid and the Fillon fraud trial.

You may be aware that there was a shooting in Hanau near Frankfurt last night and that several people were killed.

If you have been affected in any way by what happened, please get in touch with us (either with Andrea Klaus or Elisabeth Herrmann, the Head of German, or your Personal Tutor). The counselling support is also available at counselling@warwick.ac.uk. The emergency phone number for the university is 024765-22222 (24/7).

Professor Jim Shields made appearances on France 24 television to discuss President Macron’s strategy and moves to resolve the pension reform impasse in France.

Congratulations to Gianmarco Mancosu who has had a very successful PhD Viva.