Celebrating the French Connection

Tuesday, 4 July 2006

The University of Adelaide will host a public lecture series from 8-15 July, celebrating Australia's cultural and historical ties with France.

French Connection Adelaide 2006 will incorporate three conferences devoted to the French language, society and culture.

Topics include the French-Australian Food and Wine Connections; Daily Life in the French Revolution; France and the Legacy of the Great War; French Utopian Socialism; Travel Writings of the Baudin Expedition; and Multiculturalism and Nation Building.

The opening lecture on 8 July will feature a discussion on the similarities and differences between both countries in respect of the multiculturalism question. The Consul General of France in Australia (Sydney), Mr Laurent Delahousse, will provide the French context and South Australia's Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Michael Atkinson, will give the Australian viewpoint.

Professor of French Studies at the University of Sydney, Margaret Sankey, will deliver the second lecture on 10 July, discussing the travel journals kept by scientists and officers of the 1802 Baudin expedition.

On 11 July, a talk on the influence of Fourierist figure Arthur Young on Adelaide's fledging society in the 1840s will be delivered by Jean Fornasiero, Associate Professor of French Studies at the University of Adelaide. Adelaide publisher Michael Bollen will also provide his perspective on the influence of some of the more radical European thinkers on Adelaide's early development, as seen through the press of the time.

British academic Professor John Horne, an award-winning historian from Trinity College, Dublin, will discuss the legacy of France's pyrrhic victory in World War I in a lecture on 13 July. Professor Horne has a long association with South Australia. His father, Colin, was Professor of English at the University for many years.

Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, Peter McPhee, will present the 14 July Bastille Day lecture on Daily Life in the French Revolution.

The final lecture, on 15 July, will feature three food and wine connoisseurs - Cath Kerry, Emmanuelle Requin and Fanchon Ferrandi - who will explore the traditions of wining and dining in both countries.

For details about individual lectures, please visit www.adelaide.edu.au/frenchconnectionadelaide/

 

Contact Details

Associate Professor John West-Sooby
Email: john.westsooby@adelaide.edu.au
School of Humanities
French Studies
University of Adelaide
Business: +61 8 8313 5634


Mr David Ellis
Email: david.ellis@adelaide.edu.au
Website: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/
Deputy Director, Media and Corporate Relations
External Relations
The University of Adelaide
Business: +61 8 8313 5414
Mobile: +61 (0)421 612 762