Digging into Eyewitness Accounts of World War 1

There is a strong interest in first-hand accounts of the 14-18 War, but they should be explored carefully and presented systematically in order to be meaningful and reliable sources. This lecture by Professor Rémy Cazals (University of Toulouse Le Mirail), one of France's leading scholars of social history, will use the example of the journal of barrel-maker Louis Barthas as a prototype and show how reading it alongside dozens of other lesser known accounts of ordinary soldiers can offer new insights into the history of the conflict.

Emile Zola Society's Third Annual Saturday Seminar

The theme of the Emile Zola Society's third annual Saturday seminar will be ‘Seeing Life… with Zola and his contemporaries’. Speakers include Dr A.J. Counter from Cambridge who will talk on ‘Dreyfus, Vérité and Zola’s fin-de-siècle Sexual Politics.’ Cécilia Falgas-Ravry (also from Cambridge) will discuss ‘Passive Criminals, Absent Convicts: Zola’s break with traditional criminal characterisation.' Dr Jann Matlock (University College London) will speak on the subject ‘Seeing Ghosts with Zola: La Curée in the shadow of the Commune.’ And the Society Vice-President, Keith Howell, will explore ‘Saints, Sinners, Pigs and Ordure: Emile Zola through the eyes of others.'