The Eleventh Annual Graduate Student Conference of the Department of French and Romance Philology, at Columbia University, La Maison française, Saturday, March 23, 2002:
The Pen as Sword : Activism in Literature
The prominence of critical polemical issues in today's society seems to testify to the present inescapability of activist rhetoric. But writers throughout the ages have engaged themselves in various social and political causes. From the Middle Ages to the 21st century, authors have often chosen to use their pen as a sword, reflecting in their works the controversies of their time. What questions have they adressed, and how have they justified their commitments, or, in certain cases, their refusal to commit? We welcome interdisciplinary contributions that explore the history of activism in literature, and especially encourage papers relating to French writers.
Please send all questions and abstracts for papers (in either English or French; not to exceed twenty minutes) to fgsu@columbia.edu by January 11, 2002. Abstracts can also be submitted by postal mail to: French Graduate Student Union, Department of French and Romance Philology, MC 4906, Columbia University, 1150 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027. Tel.: (212) 854-2500, fax: (212) 854-5863.