We arepleased to announce the programme for the Women in French conference, ‘Women atplay / Les femmes s'amusent', to be held at Aston University, Birmingham, 9 May 2009.
This interdisciplinary one-dayconference aims to generate discussion on how French and Francophone womenexpress themselves when ‘at play' in the broadest sense of the term. Topics include:DIY, shopping, photography, blogs, mobile libraries, volunteering practices, femininejazz, the burlesque, female storytellers, and representations of play andplayful women in literature and film. The keynote lecture ‘Queensof comedy? Variations sur le comiqueféminin dans le cinéma français populaire' will be given by Brigitte Rollet fromthe University of London Institute in Paris.
The deadline for registration is1 April 2009. The registration form for the conference can be downloaded fromthe Aston University website at the followingaddress: http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lss/whatsnew/
Information about how to get to Aston Universitycan be found at: http://www.aston.ac.uk/prospective-students/directions/
Women in French Conference
Women at play / Les femmes s'amusent
Aston University,Birmingham, UK, 9 May 2009
9.30am-10.00 Welcome and registration
10.00am-11.30am Plenarysession 1: Playful writers
Eva Sansavior: ‘Playing at Representation: Performing thePersonal in the Interviews of Maryse Condé'
Kate Averis: ‘Playing God in Nancy Huston's MetafictionalNarratives'
Barbara Sémel:‘Les Précieuses du Net: Quand le blog devient salon'
11.30am-12.00am Coffee/tea break
12.00am-1.00pm Keynote lecture
Brigitte Rollet: ‘Queens ofcomedy? Variations sur le comiqueféminin dans le cinéma français populaire'
1.00pm-1.45pm LunchBreak
1.45pm-3.15pm Parallel sessions 2 & 3
Session 2: Playfulwomen
Julie Rodgers: ‘Shopping and the Emancipation of Women inthe Work of Gabrielle Roy'
Alison Smith: ‘Bending the Rules of the Game: Playful Womenin the Films of Jacques Rivette'
Loraine Day:‘Play and Desire at the Edge of the Abyss: Annie Ernaux's L'Usage de la photo (2005)'
Session 3: Playfulperformers
Brenda Garvey: ‘The Female Griot'
MarieBuscatto: ‘Amateur Jazz Singing as a Very “Feminine” Practice'
Mélanie Boissonneau: ‘Shall We Burlesque?'
3.15pm-3.30pm Coffee/tea break
3.30pm-5.00pm Plenary session 4: Womenand leisure
FlorencePotot: ‘DIY: A Woman's Domain'
MariangelaRosseli: ‘Femmes et livres en milieu rural: une relation de médiation'
Jan Windebank: ‘Between Work and Play: Women's VolunteeringPractices in France and Britain'
5.00pm: END