We were saddened to learn of the death on 8 June 2018 of Roger Pensom, Emeritus Fellow of Hertford College and formerly University Lecturer of Old French Language and Literature at the University of Oxford; he was 79.
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The 18th edition of the Forum for Iberian Studies will take place in Oxford on the 20 and 21 June at the Taylor Institution.
From Sunday, June 24th to Tuesday, June 26th 2018 the international conference Médialité des odeurs / Mediality of Smells will take place at Maison Française d’Oxford and Jesus College. This event is jointly convened by Dr Jean-Alexandre Perras (Jesus College, University of Oxford) and Dr Érika Wicky (Fonds National de La Recherche Scientifique and Université de Liège).
The study of scents and all things olfactory is currently thriving, a sign of the great interest that our information-based societies feel for a sense which seems to offer a direct and immediate experience of reality. The conference Mediality of Smells aims to develop the nascent interdisciplinary exchange around smells by examining the question of the media and the possible mediatisation of smells.
We are delighted to announce that the seventeenth R. Gapper Book Prize, given annually by the Society for French Studies, has been awarded to Professor Roger Pearson for his book Unacknowledged Legislators: The Poet as Lawgiver in Post-Revolutionary France (OUP).
The prestigious R. Gapper award yearly commends books of critical and scholarly distinction which have a clear impact on the wider critical debate. Professor Pearson's exploration of the public role of the poet in the nineteenth-century France has been honoured for its engaging and in-depth research of the topic.
Our congratulations to Dr Helen Swift, too, for being commended for her book Representing the Dead: Epitaph Fictions in Late-Medieval France (Boydell & Brewer). Dedicated to the literary representations of the dead, this volume analyses works in prose and verse, and casts fresh light on the ideas of selfhood in medieval culture, as well as on contemporary conceptions of literary representation itself.
On Monday, June 18th 2018, together with Maison Française d’Oxford, we present an international study day themed Le Monde du roman français, 1800-1820 / The World of the French Novel, 1800-1820.
The French nineteenth-century novel was the genre that transformed multilingual European literature, and Le Monde du roman français, 1800-1820 will allow one to learn about the origins of that phenomenon.
This study day will feature talks in both French and English, with the researchers arriving from across Britain and France, but also Belgium and New Zealand. The subjects are diverse and include the works of particular authors of the period (Mme de Genlis, Pigault-Lebrun, or Germaine de Staël — to name a few) as well as over-reaching themes, such as the Romantic, the Gothic, and the Feminine.
On Friday, June 15th, together with the Rothermere American Institute (RAI) , we present a one-day symposium 'Puerto Rico After Hurricane María: Culture, Politics, Place'.
On 15 June, Cinéma et culture française à Oxford, with the support of the Society for French Studies, welcomes the French actress and director Zabou Breitman, or simply Zabou. Fresh from hosting the 30th Molière Awards in France, she will be talking about her career at the Taylor Institution.
The next MIMSS (Magdalen Iberian Medieval Studies Seminar) event is taking place on Friday next week: the Colloquium on Hispanic Texts and Manuscripts will be held at Magdalen College on June 8th, from 2 pm.
The colloquium programme includes accounts by four British researchers, whose works showcase different strains of Hispanic Studies in Oxford and London. The Faculty is represented by Professor María Morrás, whose presentation will conclude the event. All are welcome.
To learn more about MIMSS activities, please, follow this link.
We are pleased to announce that Dr Imogen Choi, Associate Professor in Spanish Golden Age Literature and Exeter College Fellow in Spanish, has been awarded the prestigious AHGBI and Spanish Embassy Publication Prize for 2017-18.
Dr Choi's doctoral thesis 'Conflict Ethics and Political Thought in Early Peruvian Epic' received the prize, while Dr Elizabeth Bolorinos Allard was given the runner-up AHGBI award for her thesis 'My Enemy or My Brother? Spanish Representations of Muslim and Jewish Culture during the Colonial Campaigns in Morocco, 1909-1927'.
Both works are to be published by Tamesis Books in 2018-2019.
The next session of the Magdalen Iberian Medieval Studies Seminar is taking place on Friday, May 25th 2018. Professor Bienvenido Morros (Autonomous University of Barcelona) will give a lecture titled 'Las serranas del Arcipreste de Hita y las pastorelas francesas'. Dedicated to works of medieval Castilian poet Juan Ruiz — otherwise known as the Archpriest of Hita — the talk will explore the connection between the lyrical musings of Ruiz and French pastorals.
The lecture given by Professor Morros will take place in the Oscar Wilde Room at Magdalen College, from 5 pm.
The event is free and open to all, and will be in Spanish.
On Friday, May 25th2018 we present Richard Anconina in conversation with students and members of the public. The famous French actor, whose work spans genres and decades, will be speaking about the art of cinema and his work. Richard Anconina is a winner of two César Awards (Best Supporting Actor, Most Promising Actor) and has worked with such directors as Claude Berri and Claude Lelouch.
This conversation will be convened by Dr Michael Abecassis and take place in the Auditorium of St John's College.
The event is free and open to all, and will be in French.
Congratulations to Professor Carolin Duttlinger, who received the Oxford University Student Union award for Outstanding Pastoral Support. The annual Teaching Awards ceremony took place on May 10th, Thursday last week, in the Town Hall and celebrated the achievements of University staff — as determined by the student body.
Professor Duttlinger teaches German language and literature from the eighteenth to the twentieth century — in particular, modernist and contemporary literature. She is available for graduate supervision.
On Tuesday, May 15th 2018 we invite you to the keynote lecture of the Faculty Francophone Seminar: 'Aimé Césaire and the Hermeneutical Circle, or, How We Know What We Know' by Professor A. James Arnold. The speaker will share his insight into the works of the famous Martinique author and founder of the négritude movement in Francophone literature.
The talk will be held in the Main Hall of the Taylorian Institute at 5 pm. The event is open to all and no booking is required.
Cambridge University Press recently published Franz Kafka in Context, edited by Carolin Duttlinger, Associate Professor in German, Fellow of Wadham College, and Co-Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre.
On Friday, June 1st 2018, we welcome you to a podium discussion dedicated to one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, Franz Kafka. Titled 'Bringing Kafka's Castle to Life', this event will take place in the Auditorium of St John's College from 5.00 pm.
The panel event will examine the legacy of the novel, bringing Kafka to new audiences, and Oxford’s position on the global map of Kafka Studies. Professors Carolin Duttlinger, Katrin Kohl, Barry Murnane, and Ritchie Robertson of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre will be joined by Roland Reuß, co-editor of the FKA Historical-Critical Kafka Edition, and award-winning playwright Ed Harris, who recently adapted the novel for BBC Radio 4.
We are pleased to annouce the German Study Day 2018, taking place at St John's College on Friday, June 1st 2018. The event is open to Year 12 students interested in studying German and taking at least one modern language to A-Level. The students will be introduced to higher level academic study of German and take part in a workshop led by the University tutors.
Please, note that the application deadline for the event is by 4 pm on Friday, May 18th 2018.
The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages and the Maison Française d’Oxford are hosting a meeting of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (https://www.auf.org/) and of UK universities on 6 - 7 June 2018. We warmly invite representatives of academic institutions to attend.
BASEES Czech and Slovak Study Day: Marking 100 years since the founding of the Czechoslovak state.
We are pleased to announce that the 2018 Clara Florio Memorial Lecture will be given by Professor Diego Zancani and titled 'Italian Renaissance Food and its Representation in Britain and Italy'. Taking place on May 8th at 5 pm, the lecture is open to all and will be followed by a drinks reception.
Joining the evening will be a delegation from the University of Padua and the Comune, celebrating a unique collaboration and possible twinning of cities and universities.
We are pleased to announce that more spaces have been opened on our Modern Languages Open Day, taking place on Saturday, April 28th at the Examination Schools. The event will run from 10.50 am to 4 pm and will offer an overview of Modern Languages at Oxford, as well as a chance for prospective students to ask our tutors any questions they might have about the degree.
Please, note that booking is required.