French Studies in the United Kingdom: The Next Step
This seminar aims to examine the main trends in French Studies in the UK over the past few years and to open up the field to the future. Various academics and researchers will be brought together to determine future developments in the domain of research, teaching and the elaboration of policy.
The Society for French Studies, The Association for Teachers and Department Heads of French Studies, The Association of the Study of Modern and Contemporary France, The French Society of Historical Studies, The Society of Feminine Studies, The Society of War Studies and The Association for the Study of the French Language are among the British societies and associations united for the first time to discuss the current state of research and developments in the vast domain of French Studies.
(12 February, British Academy)
France in the British Mind 1910-2010
Various speakers, including Prof. Robert Tombs (St John's College, University of Cambridge), known for the publication of his work: That Sweet Enemy: The British and the French from the Sun King to the Present (co-written with Isabelle Tombs), and Prof. Jean-Yves Mollier (Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines), will revisit the history of the French language and culture in the United Kingdom. How have the British appropriated the French language and culture? What role has the Institut français played in this appropriation?
This conference will also be the occasion on which the Institut centenary competition prize will be awarded. This seminar is co-organised with Prof. Michèle Cohen (Richmond American International University in London), Prof. Hilary Footitt (University of Reading) and Dr Amy Wygant (University of Glasgow).
(8 May, Institut français)
The French in London
Through a series of workshops and seminars, the objective of this conference is to launch task force groups dedicated to the subject of 'The French in London' spanning from the arrival of the Huguenots to an analysis of the contemporary situation. This meeting marks the beginning of a major historical survey on the French and the UK, and London in particular.
This seminar is co-organised with Prof. Debra Kelly (University of Westminster) and Prof. Martyn Cornick (University of Birmingham). These two academics are leaders in research concerning the French presence in the United Kingdom, and in studies into the First and Second World Wars.
(2 July, Institut français)
Homage to Denis Saurat and Storm Jameson
Denis Saurat was an emblematic director of the Institut, which he directed from 1924 to 1945. During the Second World War he was one of the first French in London to join the Free French Forces.
In September 1941, the 17th Pen Club Conference was held at the Institut. At the time this event signified an important intellectual commitment on the part of Great Britain and France in the fight against the propagation of Nazi ideology. The evening will pay homage to Denis Saurat and to Storm Jameson, President of the Pen Club at the time, as well as various British and European intellectuals who were engaged in this fight.
This event is co-organised with Prof. Jennifer Birkett and Prof. Martyn Cornick (University of Birmingham).
(16 September, Institut français)
100 Years of Pedagogy of French as a Foreign Language
A historical conference and two round table discussions (one on interculturality and the other on the teaching of French as a Foreign Language today) allows us to perceive the different stages in the methodology and to determine the essential elements that make up pedagogy of French as a foreign language over the past hundred years in France and the UK. The digital revolution will also be evoked.
(24 September, Institut français)