A Scholarly Lecture and A Rainy Musical

While we have yet to enter the rainy season here in Utah, grab your umbrellas because the BYU International Cinema will be screening "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg for the Frenchies out there) next week.  This is a 1964 French Musical direct by Jacques Demy and music done by Michel Legrand.  This was a wildly popular film in its day, and I'm really kind of excited to see it.


I won't spoil the movie for you, but just know that there is a love triangle and a illegitimate child involved :)  If you can't make the screening, or just want to know how this romantic musical ends, check out the Wikipedia article.  For everyone else who might be interested here is the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Show times are as follows:
•  Tuesday the 13th of September at 5:30 PM with a pre-show lecture at 5:00 PM (see below)
•  Wednesday the 14th of September at 8:00 PM
•  Thursday the 15th of September at 9:00 PM
•  Friday the 16th of September at 9:00 PM
•  Saturday the 17th of September at 1:30 PM and 9:30 PM

Professor Robert Hudson will present a lecture on The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 

Tuesday September 13th at 5:00 pm in the International Cinema in the SWKT

Now above I mentioned a pre-show lecture, this will be done by none other than Professor Robert (Bob) J. Hudson of the French and Italian Department.  For those of you who have yet to take a class from Professor Hudson, he is the ever popular teacher for French/Italian 317 French Italian Cinema course.  I have yet to take a class from him, but from what I've heard he is quite the lecturer.


Professor Hudson received both his BA and Masters degree here at BYU before heading off to the sunny country of California to get his PhD at UCLA.  He is currently writing numerous articles and one book-length manuscript on a variety of French subjects.  When he is not working on all things French you might find him cooking, traveling, running, or following a California based sports team.  For more info check out his bio page on the French/Italian Department website.


For those of you who need cultural activities, this would be a great one to go to!


Well everyone good luck with school and happy Tuesday!

Dean of Humanities Will Give a Lecture September 7th! Where Will You Be?

Dean John Rosenberg will present a lecture entitled
"Humanities+: The Case for a Liberal Arts Education"
September 7th at noon in 238 Herald R Clark Building.
This is a free event.

Grab your calendars French students 'cause we have an awesome lecture for you!


On September 7th at noon in 238 Herald R. Clark Building, John Rosenberg, dean of the College of Humanities here at Brigham Young University, will be presenting a lecture entitled "Humanities+: The Case for a Liberal Arts Education".


 To give you a little background on John Rosenberg, he was appointed dean of the College of Humanities in 2005 after serving as assistant-dean in the Spanish-Portuguese Department at BYU.  He has had an amazing history with humanities including a Hispanic Literature course he taught being ranked in the top 25 foreign language courses by the Educational Policy Improvement Center.  If you want to read more about the dean click here.


Now if you're like me and would like to go, but can't make the time, the lecture will be archived here by the Kennedy Center.  If you have any additional questions you can contact  Lee Simons at lee_simons@byu.edu.


This is an open free event, so bring your friends, kids, grandmother, whomever you would like!

Graham Robb's Q&A

Today in the Tanner Building was Dr. Robb's Question and Answer session. It was great to see so many Francophiles show up!




The session started off with Robb explaining the book's origins from his adventures on bike throughout rural France with his wife. The issues that surfaced ranged from specific villages & dogs chasing bikes, to persecution & religion.



Dr. Robb was humorous, informative, and very gracious.

-david

Persecution and French National Identity Lecture

Dr. Graham Robb lectured today at the Kennedy Center before a diverse audience of students and professors. His subject was a self-proclaimed depressing one, yet it was forward thinking and very informative.
Robb mostly spoke on issues of persecution that he addresses in his book, The Discovery of France. He recounted the general persecution and discrimination of a forgotten group known as the cagots, and further recited some sobering specifics on how they were treated. Most shocking about this group of people is that, in reality, nothing about them separated them from the average Frenchman: they were discriminated against strictly because they had a history of being discriminated against.
Robb addressed the discrimination of gypsies, jews, africans, and arabs, as well. Though the subject matter was heavy, Robb did underline that contemporary France generally views its problems on a more international level and no longer condones harsh persecution.
With that said, he also pointed out that there is still much tension and work to be done: referencing issues like the slaughter of 200 Algerian protesters in 1961, and the 2005 suburbia riots.

Don't miss him tomorrow for his question and answer session of his most recent book, The Discovery of France .

BYU French Department presents

Graham Robb Q&A

Author, The Discovery of France

Thursday, 22 October, noon

284 TNRB

-david

Au fait, copies of the book are still for sale for only $3 in 3134 JFSB. That's $15 off the cover price.

Graham Robb

Bonjour à tous,

Graham Robb is coming to BYU Wednesday and Thursday of next week! Donc, mark your calanders, read up, write down some questions, and take advantage of this opportunity.





*For those that do not have Robb's book, The Discovery of France,
copies are available for only $3 in the French Department Office.



Kennedy Center presents
Graham Robb, Persecution and
French National Identity
Wednesday, 21 October, noon
238 HRCB

BYU French Department presents
Graham Robb Q&A
Author, The Discovery of France
Thursday, 22 October, noon
284 TNRB

Graham Robb is an accomplished writer with many awards for his
books, including the Discovery of France (2007, awarded the Duff
Cooper Prize and the 2008 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje
Prize), based in part on fourteen thousand miles’ cycling in France.
Three biographies, Rimbaud (2000, won the Enid McLeod Literature
Prize), Victor Hugo (1997, received the Royal Society of Literature
Heinemann Award and Whitbread Biography Prize), and Balzac (1994)
were New York Times “Best Books of the Year.” Robb reviews for the
Times Literary Supplement, the London Review of Books, the Daily
Telegraph, and the New York Review of Books. He is also a fellow of
the Royal Society of Literature. A native of Manchester, he graduated
from Oxford University with first-class honors in French and German
and took received a PhD from Vanderbilt University (1986), after which
he held a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Exeter College,
Oxford. Robb lives in Oxford with his wife, Margaret.

_____________

We blogged about Graham Robb and his book before. Click here to read that post.
If you're looking for some cultural activity points for your classes, this is a great opportunity.
If you want to learn more about notre pays, you can't miss it.
See you there!

-david

Upcoming French Studies Events - You don't want to miss these!

We've got a few really exciting activities coming up for the program in the near future. Make sure to mark your calendars so that you don't miss out!

French Club Cheese Night
Thursday, March 13th
6:30p.m. - 9:00p.m.
WILK Terrace (by the Cougareat)
Free admission for French Club members
$4 for guest
Tip: get there early



Lecture from Pierre Vimont, the Ambassador to the United States for France
French-American Relations in Today's World
Monday, March 24th
3:00p.m.
Hinckley Alumni and Visitor's Center Assembly Hall

Guest French Lecture: Jean-François Questin, Cultural Attaché

We will have the pleasure of hearing from Jean-François Questin, the Cultural Attaché to the French Embassy in San Francisco. He will be coming to talk to us about immigration in France. This is a great chance to hear from a foreign diplomat on a key issue in French culture today. The lecture will be in French and open to all those who want to come. Don't miss this rare opportunity!

Thursday, October 25
11:00 am B-002 JFSB

French and Italian Department Symposium

French and Italian Department Symposium

The Philosophy of Food

James Faulconer
of the
Department of Philosophy

Thursday, February 22, 2007
11:00am
B092 JFSB

You're not going to want to miss this.