CFF-program winter semester 2021/22

Table of contents

1. 1. 1. About the Center
      2. Image sources
   2. Events Fall / Winter 2021/22
      1. Reading
         1. "The Fugitives" – A conversation with Alain Damasio and Milena Adam
      2. Reading
         1. The Migrant and the Nomad: Twin Brothers or Enemy Brothers? Reading and discussion with Youssouf Amine Elalamy
      3. Reading
         1. “Gentle Debacles” – Reading & Discussion with Yanick Lahens (Haiti)
      4. Lecture / Discussion
         1. Dr. Markéta Theinhardt (Sorbonne, Paris): “The World of František Kupka”
      5. Exhibition / Discussion
         1. Kubuni – Comics from Africa: Opening Reception & Discussion with Joëlle Epée Mandengue
      6. Project
         1. Ecological Transition: Europe’s Future or a Green Utopia?
      7. Workshop Discussion
         1. Ralph Ludwig: “L’Errance et le rire.” A New Breath of Life for Caribbean Literature
      8. Research Day
         1. 12th Francophonie Research Day
      9. Reading
         1. “Vengeance Is Mine.” Livestream: Reading & Discussion with Marie N’Diaye
      10. CONVERSATION and BOOK PRESENTATION
      11. Hélène Miard-Delacroix and Andreas Wirsching: "From Arch-Enemies to Good Neighbors: A German-French Dialogue" | Reclam 2019
      12. Cooperation partners

On this page, you will always find the most up-to-date information, as changes and additions often occur even after the respective semester program has been published.

About the Center

Founded in late 2017, the Center for France | Francophonie (CFF) has a broad interdisciplinary focus and includes members from numerous faculties, including not only the School of Humanities and Social Sciences but also the faculties of medicine and Mechanical Science and Engineering.

The CFF sees itself as a hub for German-Francophone academic and cultural exchange, a point of contact for international collaborations, and a source of expertise on Francophone cultural regions.

The CFF collaborates with the DRESDEN-concept partners, supports the Research Priority Area “Culture and Societal Change,” and contributes to the visibility of TU Dresden’s international relations.

Image sources

• Flyer design: Natassa64 on Pixabay

• Photo of A. Damasio: François Grivelet

• Photo of M. Adam: Stefanie Kulisch

• Photo of Y. A. Elalamy: Y. A. Elalamy

• Photo of Y. Lahens: Iris Geneviève Lahens

• Kubuni image: Juni Ba. Cité internationale de la bande dessinée

• Environment image: Anncapictures on Pixabay

• Book cover R. Ludwig: Gallimard

• Book cover M. NDiaye: Suhrkamp

• Book cover H. Miard-Delacroix/ A. Wirsching: Reclam

• Design: A. Gleisberg

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Events Fall / Winter 2021/22

Reading

"The Fugitives" – A conversation with Alain Damasio and Milena Adam

Author Alain Damasio and translator Milena Adam discussed the novel *Die Flüchtigen*, to be published in 2021.

WHEN: September 15, 2021,
7:00–8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Goethe Institute Dresden

For detailed information about the reading, the author, the translator, and the novel, as well as some photos from the event, see the " Reviews" section.

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Reading

The Migrant and the Nomad: Twin Brothers or Enemy Brothers? Reading and discussion with Youssouf Amine Elalamy

The Franco-Moroccan writer Youssouf Amine Elalamy presented his latest novel , *C’est beau, la guerre* (2019).

WHEN: October 4, 2021, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Online via ZOOM

For detailed information about the reading, the author, and his novel, see the Reviews section.

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Reading

“Gentle Debacles” – Reading & Discussion with Yanick Lahens (Haiti)

Yanick Lahens, one of Haiti’s most important and well-known contemporary authors, presented her latest novel, Sanfte Debakel, published in spring 2021.

WHEN: October 7, 2021, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Institute français Dresden

For detailed information about the reading, the author, and the novel, as well as some photos from the event, see the “Reviews” section.

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Lecture / Discussion

Dr. Markéta Theinhardt (Sorbonne, Paris): “The World of František Kupka”

On the occasion of the 150th birthday of the world-renowned Czech painter
Art historian Dr. Markéta Theinhardt, a lecturer at the Sorbonne in Paris, will present the life and work of the famous Czech painter František Kupka (1871–1957) in her lecture.

Kupka studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and Vienna, but spent most of his life in France. He is considered one of the co-founders of abstract painting and is also famous as an illustrator for satirical magazines. During World War I, he joined the Czechoslovakian division of the French Foreign Legion and was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1918.

This event took place as part of the 23rd edition of the Czech-German Cultural Days (TDKT) in cooperation with the TDKT, the Institute français Dresden, and the Center for France | Francophonie at TU Dresden.

WHEN: Thursday, October 14, 2021, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Online via ZOOM

Further information about the event can be found on the website of the Czech-German Cultural Days.

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Exhibition / Discussion

Kubuni – Comics from Africa: Opening Reception & Discussion with Joëlle Epée Mandengue

This traveling exhibition is a bilingual adaptation of the exhibition at the Cité de la Bandes Dessinées in Angoulême, which was curated by Joëlle Epée Mandengue (director of the Bilili Festival in Brazzaville) and Jean-Philippe Martin (Cité de la BD).
Coordination: Office for Books and Publishing of the Institute français Germany

Welcome address: Dresden’s Mayor, Mr. Dirk Hilbert (Dresden-Brazzaville City Partnership).

Discussion between Prof. Dr. Karen Struve (University of Bremen) & Joëlle Epée Mandengue, moderated by Sylvia Kindelberger (Dresden Municipal Libraries, Fiction Editor, Literary Studies, Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies) and translated into German by Dr. Matthias Kern (Research Associate at the Chair of French Literature and Cultural Studies / CFF, TU Dresden).

WHEN: November 8, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Central Library, Schlossstraße 2, 01067 Dresden
Free admission.
Please register in advance at: zentralbibliothek[at]bibo-dresden.de.

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Project

Ecological Transition: Europe’s Future or a Green Utopia?

As part of the “Utopia Europe”call for proposals, initiated by the Office for University Cooperation at the Institute français Deutschland (IFD) and supported by the Franco-German University (DFH), students at TU Dresden are developing Franco-German discussion and exchange formats on the topic of“Ecology and Sustainability.”

Further information can be found under the heading Funding Programs / Cooperation.

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Workshop Discussion

Ralph Ludwig: “L’Errance et le rire.” A New Breath of Life for Caribbean Literature

Workshop discussion with Prof. Dr. Ralph Ludwig, Professor of Romance Philology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, about his book L’Errance et le rire, scheduled for release in February 2022.

WHEN: postponed to early May 2022
WHERE: Specific details will follow with the new CFF Spring/Summer program.

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Research Day

12th Francophonie Research Day

The "francophonies" Research Day is a forum for project presentations, discussion, and exchange among early-career researchers in the fields of literature, linguistics, theater, cultural studies, and media studies, which the Francophone Research Seminar at the University of Leipzig (FFSL) has been organizing for over ten years in collaboration with various partners—and in 2022 in collaboration with the Institute of Romance Studies at TU Dresden.

WHEN: March 25–26, 2022
WHERE: Online. For more information, visit: https://ffsl.info/Veranstaltungen/Forschungstage
Application deadline extended to January 31, 2022.

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Reading

Unfortunately, the reading with Marie N'Diaye on February 2, 2022, has been canceled. We are working to find an alternative date.
Tickets remain valid or can be refunded upon request.

“Vengeance Is Mine.” Livestream: Reading & Discussion with Marie N’Diaye

The acclaimed French author reads from her stirring novel “Vengeance Is Mine,” published in German in 2021,
about a woman in an extreme situation. In France, it was the literary event of the year: a sophisticated, profound play on us and our expectations and fears.

In cooperation with the Dresden Municipal Libraries and the Institut Français Sachsen, in partnership with Suhrkamp Verlag, as part of the program on literary translation under the theme “At the Heart of Violence.”

WHEN: February 2, 2022, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
WHERE: Central Library, Kulturpalast, Schlossstr. 2, 01067 Dresden

New: In-person registration for this event is now open.

Admission / Access Link:

Admission €9, reduced €6 with a valid library card | Tickets available online or at the Herkuleskeule ticket counter on the ground floor of the Kulturpalast | Limited seating

The access link to the livestream. Available starting February 2, 2022 | 7:30 PM | free of charge.

In German & French.

Moderator: Torsten König, TU Dresden | Centrum Frankreich | Francophonie
Consecutive interpretation: Odile Vassas, Dresden City Libraries
German voice: Kathleen Gaube

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Unfortunately, the event with Hélène Miard-Delacroix and Andreas Wirsching announced for today has had to be canceled at short notice due to illness. The organizing partners are working to find an alternative date.

CONVERSATION and BOOK PRESENTATION

Hélène Miard-Delacroix and Andreas Wirsching: "From Arch-Enemies to Good Neighbors: A German-French Dialogue" | Reclam 2019

This February marks the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Maastricht, also known as the Treaty on European Union. In light of this and the upcoming presidential election in France, we are taking a closer look at Franco-German relations.

From today’s perspective, it seems almost unimaginable that these two great nations at the heart of Europe once eyed each other with such suspicion and jealousy for centuries—and repeatedly clashed in bloody conflicts, such as in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, and in World War I and World War II.

The fact that the two nations established friendly relations so quickly after 1945 is also due to the fact that numerous people on both sides repeatedly strove for mutual understanding. Not least, the history of Franco-German relations is a history of political pairs—from Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand to Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron.

Drawing on their jointly published book, French historian Hélène Miard-Delacroix, who teaches at the Sorbonne in Paris, and her German colleague Andreas Wirsching, director of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich - Berlin, the eventful history of a unique neighborhood and explain how important knowledge of their shared past is for Franco-German cooperation in the EU of the 21st century.

In cooperation with the “Hommage à la France” literary prize of the Brigitte Schubert-Oustry Foundation, the Dresden Institute, and the Dresden Municipal Libraries.

In German.

Live in front of an audience or as a livestream on the YouTube channel of the Dresden Municipal Libraries —depending on the pandemic situation.

Free admission | Registration is requested at: zentralbibliothek[at]bibo-dresden.de

WHEN: February 28, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Central Library of the Dresden Municipal Libraries, Kulturpalast, Event Room 1st Floor, Schlossstr. 2, 01067 Dresden
If necessary, the event will take place digitally.

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Cooperation partners

• Member of the DRESDEN-concept network, Literaturnetz Dresden, and the network of universities and Francophone centers in Germany
• arche noVa. Initiative for People in Need e.V.
• German-French University
• City of Dresden
• Goethe Institute
• "Hommage à la France" Literature Prize of the Brigitte Schubert-Oustry Foundation
• Institut français Dresden, Leipzig, Rabat, Germany
• Litradukt Publishing House
• Matthes & Seitz Publishing
• Dresden Public Libraries
• Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Prof. Dr. Ralph Ludwig)
• Francophone Research Seminar of the University of Leipzig/Centre de Recherches Francophones de Leipzig (FFSL/CRFL)
• Suhrkamp Publishing House