Centre for French and Francophone Research

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends
TODAY! 19 November 2025, 4pm-6pm
Taking as her material the serial novels, vaudeville plays, fashion magazines and newspaper columns of the Second Empire, Andrea Goulet proposes the fictional Quaker as a screen onto which the French projected their own ambivalence about “liberté, égalité, and fraternité.

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends The Centre for French and Francophone Research welcomes Andrea Goulet (University of Pennsylvania) to give this talk.

Community Cinema: Soundtrack to a Coup d’État (+ Director Q&A)
19 November 2025, 6:30 pm–10:00 pm
Jazz and decolonisation are entwined in this Oscar nominated historical rollercoaster. Soundtrack to a Coup d’État rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.

Community Cinema: Soundtrack to a Coup d’État (+ Director Q&A) Jazz and decolonisation are entwined in this Oscar nominated historical rollercoaster.

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends
19 November 2025, 4pm-6pm
Taking as its material the serial novels, vaudeville plays, fashion magazines, and newspaper columns of the Second Empire, Andrea Goulet (U. Pennsylvania) proposes the fictional Quaker as a screen onto which the French projected their own ambivalence about “liberté, égalité, and fraternité.

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends The Centre for French and Francophone Research welcomes Andrea Goulet (University of Pennsylvania) to give this talk.

⏰Happening tomorrow!
Ludic Literature
29 October 2025, 4pm-6pm
We welcome Tim Beasley-Murray (UCL), Aubrey Gabel (Columbia University), and Dennis Duncan (UCL) to discuss ludic literature.

Ludic Literature The Centre for French and Francophone Research welcomes Tim Beasley-Murray (UCL), Aubrey Gabel (Columbia University), and Dennis Duncan (UCL).

Ludic Literature
29 October 2025, 4pm-6pm
We welcomes Tim Beasley-Murray (UCL), Aubrey Gabel (Columbia University), and Dennis Duncan (UCL).

Ludic Literature The Centre for French and Francophone Research welcomes Tim Beasley-Murray (UCL), Aubrey Gabel (Columbia University), and Dennis Duncan (UCL).

**Note change of location**
Is Metafiction still Post-Modern?
29 Oct 3–4:30pm
We welcome Prof Anne Duprat (U. Picardy Jules Verne) to give this seminar. The Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to co-host this event with UCL Comparative Literature and UCL French.

Is Metafiction still Post-Modern? We welcome Prof Anne Duprat (U. Picardy Jules Verne) to give this seminar. The Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to co-host this event with UCL Comparative Literature and UCL French.

Chardin and the Oeconomie of Painting
9 Oct 5:30-7:30pm
In early modern France, “oeconomie” referred to the art of managing material resources, particularly within a household.
UCL History of Art welcome Dr Sarah Grandin (Courtauld Institute) for this seminar.

Chardin and the Oeconomie of Painting For this Research Seminar, we welcome Dr Sarah Grandin (The Courtauld Institute of Art) for a talk on ‘Chardin and the Oeconomie of Painting’.

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream'
2 Oct, 5-7pm
'Émile Zola: A Determined Life' by Robert Lethbridge
'Zola's Dream: Idealism on Trial' by Claire White
'Émile Zola: Writing Modern Life' by Rachel Bowlby

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream' The IAS and the Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to host this triple book launch on the subject of Émile Zola.

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends
19 November 2025, 4pm-6pm
We welcome Andrea Goulet (University of Pennsylvania) to give this talk.

Shady Quakers, or How Second Empire France Turned Against the Friends The Centre for French and Francophone Research welcomes Andrea Goulet (University of Pennsylvania) to give this talk.

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream'
2 October 2025, 5pm-7pm
The IAS and the Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to host this triple book launch on the subject of Émile Zola.

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream' The IAS and the Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to host this triple book launch on the subject of Émile Zola.

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream'
2 October 2025, 5pm-7pm
Along with -ias.bsky.social, we are pleased to host this triple book launch, with authors Robert Lethbridge, Claire White and Rachel Bowlby.

IAS Book Launch 'Émile Zola: Life and Dream' The IAS and the Centre for French and Francophone Research are pleased to host this triple book launch on the subject of Émile Zola.