News from Societies

Deviations

‘Deviations’, the Society for French Studies’ Postgraduate Conference for 2024, took place on 31 May at King’s College London. Considering what it means to deviate across social, cultural, spatial, and aesthetic planes, the conference comprised contributions by 21 postgraduate researchers from universities across the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, and the United States. An incredibly moving and memorable keynote was delivered by Dr Jasmine D. Cooper, Fairlie-Hutchinson Research Fellow in French at the University of Cambridge, entitled ‘Deviation in Motion: Rage, Dance and the cri du corps’, which was followed by a lively Q&A. Over six panels, we explored the theme of ‘deviations’ in relation to questions of power, care, excess, transgression, identity, space, and form, with papers from the fields of French and francophone literature, visual culture, sociology, history, and philosophy. Contributions from the conference will be published in a special issue of French Studies Bulletin, co-edited by the organizers, which is projected for publication in 2026. The conference was funded by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at King’s College London, whose support paid for the room hire, and the Society for French Studies, whose support provided lunch and refreshments for delegates, several of whom were also able to attend thanks to SFS Research Support. Thanks to these financial contributions, it was possible to host what was for many attendees their first opportunity to present research; to welcome Jasmine Cooper in person; to share ideas in a collegial atmosphere and make connections with other postgraduate researchers; and to enjoy a drink by the Thames at the end of the conference. The organizers would like to thank Ian Nixon, Duarte Bénard da Costa, Ry Montgomery, Katharine Kent, Maddison Sumner, and Tamzin Elliott for their expert chairing of the day’s panels, and David Ewing for his support as the lead organizer of previous Postgraduate Conferences. Warm thanks are due, too, to the Executive Committee of the Society for French Studies—especially Siobhán McIlvanney, Sinan Richards, Joanne Brueton, Madeleine Chalmers, Kate Foster, Emmanuelle Labeau, Paul Hegarty, Nicholas Harrison, and Diana Holmes—for their encouragement, guidance, and assistance in organizing the conference, as well as the King’s Venues team for their help in bringing the day together.

(Report by Elly Walters, University of Oxford and Airelle Amédro, University of Warwick)

‘André du Bouchet, d’un siècle à l’autre’: A two-part centenary conference

This international conference was organized jointly by Emma Wagstaff (University of Birmingham), Thomas Augais (Sorbonne Université), and Olivier Belin (Université de Rouen). It aimed to disseminate research on André du Bouchet (1924–2001), a major twentieth-century French poet, bringing together speakers from different career stages. Many of the papers explored material published since 2011, after the poet’s death and two other conferences on his work (1983 and 2011), and following the publication of monographs by Collot (2021), Decorniquet (2015), De Rijcke (2013), Koch (2021), Martinez (2013), and Wagstaff (2020). The first part took place at the University of Birmingham on 12 April 2024 and focused on Du Bouchet’s work as a translator, as well as on translations of his texts. Papers explored his friendship with Paul Celan and their translations of one another’s work, as well as Du Bouchet’s translation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the recent publication of an English translation of his text La Couleur, by Iliassa Sequin, and his correspondence with translators. The day concluded with a translation workshop based on translations by Du Bouchet and of his work, and French/English/German bilingual readings of his texts. The Society for French Studies kindly supported the travel and accommodation costs of two invited speakers, one of whom is an early-career researcher. The second part of the conference took place at Sorbonne Université and the Maison de la poésie in Paris on 6–7 June 2024. Papers encompassed a range of approaches, including analysis of early texts by Du Bouchet, some of which revealed new poetic influences, notably Victor Hugo and Maurice Scève; his responses to artwork by Hercule Seghers, Pierre Tal Coat, Jean Hélion, and others; and reactions to his work by thinkers and writers such as Henri Maldiney, Pierre Fédida, Francis Ponge, and Yves Bonnefoy. There were contributions by poets Elke De Rijcke, Victor Martinez, François Rannou, and Esther Tellermann, who discussed how their writing responded to Du Bouchet, readings from the newly published correspondence between Du Bouchet and Jean-Michel Raynard, and readings and discussion by Anne de Staël, Marie du Bouchet, and Gilles du Bouchet. Attendees at the Maison de la poésie enjoyed an evening of music accompanied readings, by Denis Podalydès, from Du Bouchet’s texts. The wide-ranging and in-depth discussions at the conference will serve to strengthen ties between the small field of modern French poetry studies in the UK and the larger networks of researchers in modern poetry in France and beyond, as well as creative practitioners with an interest in Du Bouchet’s work. The organizers plan to publish a volume of articles based on the conference and are in discussion with publishers in France. The event was supported by the Ambassade de France à Londres, the University of Birmingham College of Arts and Law, Sorbonne Université and the Cellf (Centre d’Étude de la langue et des littératures françaises), and the Université de Rouen and the CÉRÉdi (Centre d’Études et de Recherche Éditer/Interpréter).

(Report by Emma Wagstaff, University of Birmingham)

Circulations des récits de transfuges de classe: perspectives internationales, éditoriales et médiatiques

Taking place on the 12 and 13 of June in Orléans, France, this international conference organized by Laélia Véron (Université d’Orléans) and Karine Abiven (Sorbonne Université) marked the conclusion of their seminar series at the Sorbonne, ‘Pour une approche critique de la notion de “récit de transfuge de classe”: usages littéraires, sociologiques, médiatiques et politiques’ and the publication of their essay Trahir et venger: paradoxes des récits de transfuge de classe by Éditions La Découverte. This trio of engagements with questions of the transfuge de classe narrative inscribes itself within the TRANSILANGUE project (TRAitemeNt Stylistique de la LANGUE des transfuges de classe) run by the Université d’Orléans research group POLEN (POuvoirs, LEttres, Normes). Taking place firstly at the historic Hôtel Dupanloup in the centre of Orléans, and then at the university’s Arts and Humanities faculty on campus, the conference comprised nine papers given by individual speakers as well as a roundtable on diachronic approaches to the theme of the transfuge de classe. Amongst the topics discussed throughout the two days were questions of international significance, including the reception of Annie Ernaux outside of France, the incompatibility of the concept of the transfuge in an Italian context, and British approaches to the theme of class transition; reflections on medium were also encouraged, with papers on the sociolinguistic approach to the récit de soi, and the adaptation of transfuge de classe narratives for the stage and screen. Approaches which incorporated analysis of editorial trends and media responses were also welcomed, and discussions focused on the selection processes of publishing houses interested in class narratives, as well as the production of class by news media. I am grateful to the Society for French Studies for having part-funded my attendance at this conference, and to Laélia and Karine for the organization of the conference and seminar series which preceded it.

(Report by Maddison Sumner, University of Cambridge)