Early Modern French Studies Reading Group (MLA Commons) - Project on Performance and Philosophy
Early Modern French Studies Reading Group (MLA Commons)
Project on Performance and Philosophy
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Early Modern French Studies Reading Group, a virtual reading group run through the MLA Commons (an online platform hosted by the Modern Language Association: http://commons.mla.org/groups/early-modern-french-studies-reading-group/). Previously, we've read and shared posts about texts such as Corneille’s Médée, Descartes’ Les Passions de L'âme and Pascal's Les Provinciales. This work led us to reflect on the philosophical import of theatrical texts as well as the theatrical qualities of some philosophical texts. Our current goal is to ground our on-going collaboration by exploring the pedagogical possibilities offered by the overlap between performance and philosophy.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, we are embarking on a series of readings aimed at helping us brainstorm creative ways to teach French philosophical texts using performance. We warmly invite your participation. Our discussions take place in written form on the MLA Commons blog (which is set to private) to accommodate varying schedules across many time zones. The format is flexible and conversational. Participants can post in English or French.
Our first reading for the fall semester will be a chapter by Laura Cull, "Performance Philosophy: Staging a New Field," which is available on our MLA Commons site. We will encourage participants to post their comments on the piece during the last week of October (Monday 10/26-Friday 10/30). However, participants should feel free to join the conversation at a later moment that better suits their schedule. Our initial conversation will be centered around the following questions:
1) How might Cull's description of 'Performance Philosophy' as a field help us think of new ways to teach early modern philosophical texts?
2) Do French philosophical texts from the 16th-18th centuries have any special characteristics to which we should attend when considering their performativity?
Please feel free to contact us about joining the group or with any further queries.
Sincerely,
Joy Palacios (Simon Fraser University) and Anna Rosensweig (University of Southern California)
joy_palacios@sfu.ca
rosenswe@usc.edu