Writing in the Spirit of the Times: Enrolling in Your Time Through Literature (In French)
Mar 14, 2025 — All day
This conference proposes to study the way in which French-language literature enters into dialogue with its time.
Literature is not impervious to the social, political, cultural, or economic context in which it is produced. This conference proposes to address the question of the historicity and sociality of literary works from two angles. On the one hand, this perspective invites reflection on the link between literature and modernity: how is contemporary literature representative of our time in the same way that classical literature was of the Grand Siècle? Or, how does the written language evolve to better make voices heard as they have been expressed over time? On the other hand, we can question literature in relation to its production context: how does this influence the conception of a work?
Papers may be part of various approaches to literary studies, such as creative writing, research-creation, language studies, or linguistics.
Literature, creative writing, and research-creation
This theme is devoted to exploring how literary works enter into dialogue with their time and how the concerns of an era are transmitted in the process of literary creation.
Contemporary literature can interact with our time by addressing current issues. We can think in particular of environmental issues and the climate crisis, as addressed in Pompières et pyromanes (2021) by Martine Delvaux or Humus (2023) by Gaspar Kœnig. Or, in her novel Les Choses humaines (2019), Karine Tuil draws inspiration from a real case of an accusation of rape on the Stanford campus in 2016 to address the theme of sexual assault.
This perspective can also be applied to other periods, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era, as well as to other literary movements. For example, the works of Émile Zola bear witness, among other things, to the scientific study carried out by the author on the society of his time.
From another perspective, we can think of authors who, in recent years, have called upon sensitive readers to reread their manuscripts. This approach in their creation allows for a more accurate representation of communities or subjects depicted in the work. It would therefore be a question here of reflecting on the repercussions and reception of a work, which seems to fit well with the creative issues of the contemporary era.
Finally, it is also possible to examine stylistic processes, such as fragmentary writing, which can appear “as a decisive gesture of genre disintegration” (Ripoll, 2002, par. 4), and which can be linked to the bursting of the boundaries of literary genres that we observe in the creation of contemporary works. We can think, among other things, of Kim Thúy’s creative process in fragments in her novel Ru (2009).
It is also possible for this category to present the challenges of its own research-creation.
Linguistics and the study of language
This axis is part of the perspective of linguistics and is particularly interested in the way in which language reflects the dynamics of its time and adapts to them.
Language, in perpetual evolution, mirrors social, cultural and political transformations. Thus, throughout history, literature has not only captured the spirit of the times, but has also influenced linguistic developments, thus testifying to the currents of thought and upheavals that mark each period.
When Saussure states that “language is a social fact” (1916, 21), he highlights the importance of the sociohistorical context in the formation of the language that we use in our daily lives. Today, rapid transformations in society, linked in particular to technological changes, social debates and identity issues, have a direct impact on the use and form of language. Contemporary movements such as demands for gender equality, feminism or identity issues influence language and its literary use.
Papers in this area may also examine the way in which language in contemporary literature reflects geopolitical, technological or cultural issues specific to our time. For example, how is French evolving in the digital age and social networks? How does literature reflect regional linguistic particularities in a context of globalization? Furthermore, the link between language and social dynamics can be questioned through the analysis of linguistic norms imposed or contested in the framework of social or political movements.
We therefore invite you to problematize the inscription of literary language in its time and to examine how linguistic developments are found at the heart of works, both from a formal and thematic point of view.
Submission procedures
Proposals for papers will be written in French and will be a maximum of 250 words. They should include the title of the paper, a summary of the project and a brief bio-bibliographical note specifying the home institution.
Proposals should be sent before December 23, 2024 to the following address: aecs@uottawa.ca
A response will be given to selected participants at the beginning of January 2025.
New papers in French should not exceed the twenty minutes allocated to each participant.
This conference will be offered in person only.
Organizing Committee: Pascale Couturier-Rose (University of Ottawa), Mounira Khoris (University of Ottawa), Louna Renard (University of Ottawa), Audrey Sigouin (University of Ottawa).
Bibliography
RIPOLL, Ricard (ed.). Fragmentary Writing: Theories and Practices, Perpignan, Perpignan University Press, 2002, 363 p.
SAUSSURE, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics, Paris, Payot, 1995 [1916], 520 p.