AHRC Global Diplomacy Network conference

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On Friday 31st May, the SMLC will be holding a study day on the contemporary French novel. The day will bring together some of the leading scholars in French studies from the UK as well as from France and further afield, to explore how contemporary fiction can offer forms of social critique and articulate expressions of nationhood.

In particular, we will be asking whether the idea of the "State of the Nation Novel", frequently used of novels written in English, might be of critical use in the French and francophone sphere. The day aims to theorize, problematize and critique the hypothesis of a contemporary ‘Condition-of-France’ novel, defining its possible contours, characteristics and limitations. (An outline of the day's programme can be found below.)

This study day may be of interest to those working on contemporary fiction in English, expressions of socio-political critique or of nationhood, or who situate their research more broadly in a comparatist perspective. It would be wonderful to see colleagues from ECLS at the event, whether in person or online, and you are very welcome to join us.

• To register, please follow the link below

https://forms.gle/6HYrbjM3uU3bPAyX8Link opens in a new window 

(Registration will be open until 22nd May.

Please note that registration fees de not apply to PGRs)

stateofthenationnovel@gmail.com

or

neil.malloy@warwick.ac.uk 

The State of the Nation Novel:

Contemporary French Fiction and Social Critique

Friday 31st May

In Person (Oculus 1.04/1.06) & Online

Programme

9.30-10.00 Registration

10.00-10.10 Introduction

10.10-11.45 Panel 1: Critical reinventions: French society figured through past, present, future

 Chair: Jeremy Ahearne (University of Warwick)

• Sybila Guéneau (EHESS): ‘La grande littérature morale de notre époque’ : comment le néo-polar prend en charge un discours politique et social marqué par la désillusion au lendemain de Mai 68
• Anna Krykun (Université de Tours): Confessions des enfants du XXIe siècle, ou être nés trop tard dans un monde trop vieux
• Jacqueline Dutton (University of Melbourne): Seeing the Now: Cognitive Estrangement in French Futuristic Fiction

11.45-12.00 Coffee break

12.00-13.00 Keynote: Martin Crowley (University of Cambridge) Territorial integrity and narrative division in Sabri Louatah’s 404

Chair: Douglas Morrey (University of Warwick)

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00-15.15 Panel 2: “Popular fiction?”: mediating and mediatising contemporary France

Chair: Pierre-Philippe Fraiture (University of Warwick)

• Bradley Stephens (University of Bristol): Taking the National Pulse through Recent Popular Fiction
• Louise Kari-Méreau (Trinity College Dublin): Quand la critique sociale fait vendre : les exemples de Frédéric Beigbeder et de Michel Houellebecq en 2023
• Neil Malloy (University of Warwick): Seeing contemporary capitalism: voyeurism and visual culture in Marie-Hélène Lafon

15.15-15.30 Coffee Break

15.30-16.45 Panel 3: “Faire société”: tracing the contours of “community” from within and without

Chair: Oliver Davis (University of Warwick)

• Aurélien Gras (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne): En guerre de François Bégaudeau, ou la lutte des classes en France au XXIe siècle
• Natalie Edwards (University of Bristol): Vernon Subutex, Julien Sorel and Urban Society
• Kahina Bellil & Samira Ouyougoute (Université de Bejaia): La France à travers les écrits de l’Algérien francophone Boualem Sansal : l’islamisme en marche

16.45-17.00 Coffee Break

17.00-18.00 ASMCF Keynote: Timo Obergöker (University of Chester): L'imaginaire insulaire de la littérature française contemporaine

 Chair: Margaux Whiskin (University of Warwick)

18.00-18.05 Concluding Remarks

The conference webpage can be found here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/academic/postgraduate/malloy/stateofthenationnovel/Link opens in a new window