French Presse: New Books on French and Francophone History. Bring your own coffee!
This virtual series of hour-long book talks typically feature an author with a relatively new publication in French and/or Francophone history (publication date of 2021 or 2022) and an interviewer familiar with the subject matter. A moderator handles Zoom entry and takes additional questions from the audience.
We actively seek proposals for pairs of authors-interviewers that would include the title and publication information of the book, short CVs, and a list of potential themes for discussion.
We are committed to creating a welcoming, antiracist, and diverse series that embodies our Society’s anti-discriminatory mission of inclusiveness, political education, and equitable empowerment.
2022
Wednesday, January 26 at 3 PM EST
Rachel Anne Gillett will discuss her new book, At Home in Our Sounds: Music, Race, and Cultural Politics in Interwar Paris (Oxford University Press, 2020). Rachel will be interviewed by Jonathyne Briggs, Indiana University Northwest, and Kesewa John, University College London.
Sunday, February 6 at 3 PM EST
Nina Gelbart, Occidental College, will discuss her book Minerva’s French Sisters: Women of Science in Enlightenment France (Yale University Press, 2021), with Kathleen Wellman, Southern Methodist University.
Sunday, February 27 at 3 PM EST
Aro Velmet, University of Southern California, will discuss book Pasteur’s Empire: Bacteriology and Politics in France, its Colonies, and the World (Oxford University Press, 2020) with Alice Conklin, (Ohio State University).
March 13 and 30: “Futures of French History: Lightning Presentations by Early Career Scholars”
These two sessions were lead ups to the 2022 conference in Charlotte.
Sunday, March 13 at 3 PM EST
Lisa Leff, Moderator.
- “Contested Commodities: A History of Cannabis and Tobacco in Colonial Morocco.” John Dieck, University of Minnesota.
- “A Family in Iran: Networks of Love, Learning and Labor in the Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1908-1978.” Isabelle Headrick, University of Texas at Austin.
- “Terms of Exchange: Brazilian Intellectuals and the French Social Sciences.” Ian Merkel, Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin.
- “Expanding the Narrative and Meanings of Occupation and France in WWII." Cameron Zinsou, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Sunday, March 30 at 3 PM
Julie Hardwick, Moderator.
- “Movable goods as gateway to the credit market. Civil and criminal aspects of pawns in 16th-18th c. France.” Nga Bellis-Phan, University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas.
- “Producing Pondichéry: towards a social-urban history of 18th c French India.” Jakob Burnham, Georgetown University.
- “Their Shameful Parts: Authority, Sexuality, and Abuse in Bicêtre, 1660.” Alex Taft, University of Texas at Austin.
Sunday April 16, 2022 at 3 PM EST
Hilary Bernstein, UC Santa Barbara, will discuss her book, Historical Communities: Cities, Erudition, and National Identity in Early Modern France (Brill, 2021) with Michael Breen, Reed College.
Sunday, April 24 at 3 PM EST
Ian Coller, University of California, Irvine, will discuss book Muslims and Citizens: The French Revolution and Islam (Yale University Press, 2020) with Judith Surkis, Rutgers University.
Sunday, November 13 at 3 PM EST
Meghan Roberts in conversation with Julie Hardwick about Julie’s book Sex in an Old Regime City: Young Workers and Intimacy in France, 1660-1789 (Oxford University Press, 2020).
Sunday, December 11 at 3 PM EST
Robin Mitchell in conversation with Sarah Horowitz, Washington and Lee University, about Sarah’s book The Red Widow, The Scandal that Shook Paris and the Woman Behind it All (Sourcebooks, 2022).