SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS
Literature and the Press in France: 1789-1914. With the support of the Society for French Studies.
25 September, 2014, Maison Française d'Oxford
Keynote Speaker: Marie-Ève Thérenty (Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier 3)
This one-day conference considers the interrelationship between the press and the literature of the long nineteenth century in France, examining the gradual shift towards mass culture that takes place throughout the 1800s. From the establishment of the nonpartisan daily newspaper, La Presse, by Girardin in the 1830s, to the burgeoning circulation rates of papers such as Le Petit Journal under the Second Empire and through to the fin de siècle years and discussion of the so-called ‘crise de presse,' the newspaper saw a period of spectacular change. As the press incorporates literature in the form of the roman-feuilleton, so too the developing press is reflected and rejected throughout the literature of the era: Delphine de Girardin dramatizes the world of journalism in L'École des journalistes; Balzac's Lucien de Rubempré is tempted by the mercenary world of earning money by the line; Gautier and Zola contribute to and criticise the press; reportage is represented in the works of Jules Verne and Gaston Leroux; at the turn of the century the seeds of surrealist interest in the newspaper are being sown.
Critical interest in these crossovers and conflicts includes Richard Terdiman's analysis of discourse and counter-discourse and the extensive work carried out by the ‘littérature et médias' branch of the RIRRA group at the Université Paul Valéry at Montpellier. In collaboration with the Université de Laval, this group is also responsible for the launch of the website medias19.org.
This conference aims to bring together international perspectives on nineteenth-century literature and its interactions with the press. It is hoped that a publication based on papers given at the conference will follow.
Papers should be delivered in either French or English and last no more than 20 minutes. Proposals of up to 350 words should be sent to Dr Kate Rees, The Queen's College, Oxford (kathryn.rees@queens.ox.ac.uk) and Edmund Birch, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (eb375@cam.ac.uk) by 30 April 2014.
Langue(s) : English or French