2017
January 31 Interview with the French writer Edouard Louis: The LGBTQ intercollegiate community with the Harvard and Yale Clubs co-hosted an interview with the French writer Edouard Louis. As a recent writer-in-residence at Dartmouth and having lectured at several American universities, Louis brings a dynamic perspective to comparing how the interlocking challenges of social inequality and sexuality manifest in America and in France. The evening provides an exceptional moment to situate Louis’ work in the history of Franco-American relations - and especially in the fertile role LGBTQ authors have played in that intellectual exchange.
December 7 United States - French Relations Today, by Brent Hardt: Brent Hardt earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University (‘83), and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (MALD in 1986 and PhD in 1991)
November 18 Harvard - Yale Game Viewing Party: Viewing party at a Harvard-Yale- Parisian institution: The Moose.
November 17 Photo exhibit - Nomads of Niger, Water Scarcity, and Climate Change: Opening of Ariane Kirtley's photo exhibit "Nomads of Niger, Water Scarcity, and Climate Change". This expo depicts the Tuareg and Fulani nomads of Niger, and their resiliency despite severe water scarcity and a rapidly changing climate. Ariane, a French-American, spent her childhood in rural West Africa. After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Anthropology and a Master’s in International Public Health, Ariane returned to the Sahara in 2005 as a Fulbright scholar. Based on her work with the nomadic herders in Niger’s Azawak Valley, she founded the international NGO Amman Imman: Water is Life, to provide support to Africa's most vulnerable minority populations. In addition to being CEO of Amman Imman since 2006, Ariane is a photographer and storyteller, and has published several of her fictional and non-fictional works.
October 26 Ivy+ LGBTQ Alumni Afterwork: Afterwork organized by the LGBTQ intercollegiate alumni based in Paris. The event featured an open bar in WeWork's Lafayette rooftop bar. Co-hosted by the Harvard Club of France and WeWork.
October 24 Arts Arena Yale School of Music Recital: The Arts Arena Yale School of Music Recital was hold in the magnificent Galerie dorée of the Banque de France, a spectacular gilded room with exceptional acoustics that once belonged to King Louis XIV’s “legitimized” son, the Comte de Toulouse. Today, the beautifully renovated gallery is open only by invitation of the Governor of the Banque de France. The Arts Arena is grateful to Monsieur François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, and to Arts Arena Co-President Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn for making this event possible.
October 4 Talk - The Language of Light: Partially deaf due to a childhood illness, Gerald Shea is no stranger to the search for communicative grace and clarity. In this eloquent and thoroughly researched book, he uncovers the centuries-long struggle of the Deaf to be taught in sign language—the only language that renders them complete, fully communicative human beings. Shea explores the history of the deeply biased attitudes toward the Deaf in Europe and America, which illogically forced them to be taught in a language they could neither hear nor speak. As even A.G. Bell, a fervent oralist, admitted, sign language is "the quickest method of reaching the mind of a deaf child."
September 22 Arts Arena Lecture - Philip Guston: Hilarious and Horrifying: Eminent curator, artist, and author, Robert Storr is one of the world's most influential voices in contemporary art. Formerly Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA, Commissioner of the Venice Biennale, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean of the Yale School of Art, he is an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His book Intimate Geometries: The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois was awarded the 2017 FILAF d’Or at the Festival international du livre d’art et du film in Perpignan. Mr. Storr is a founding member of the Arts Arena Advisory Council and a member of the Arts Arena Board of Directors.
September 10 Walking tour: We explored the French Revolution through a walking tour of the Latin Quarter with the Harvard Club and Brad Newfield, a French-American guide for Paris Walks.
June 14 Dinner with Pr. Judith Resnik. Inventing Democratic Courts: Adjudication is an ancient practice, which long pre-dates democracies. But the egalitarian promises of the twentieth century transformed courts, which came to welcome all persons as entitled to take all roles (from litigant to lawyer and judge) in the courtroom. But democracy also challenges courts profoundly, as fair process requires resources for courts and subsidies for users. This talk sketched the “invention” of courts during the last century and the fragility of courts in this century.
https://law.yale.edu/judith-resnikApril 13 Talk: Professor Mourad’s new book, The Mosaic of Islam is the fruit of a conversation between Mourad and Perry Anderson that began when they were resident fellows at the Institut d'Études Avancées de Nantes. One of the main motivations behind the book is an ardent desire to counterbalance today's pervasive misinformation about Islam and Muslims, that influences Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and which is still prevalent in most contemporary books on Islam. Perry Anderson, professor of History at UCLA, plays the role of the questioner while Suleiman offers answers that touch on key issues and topics from Islam's beginnings to the present day. Born in Lebanon, Professor Mourad graduated from the American University of Beirut and received his PhD at Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the A. Von Humboldt Foundation.
April 4 Cocktail dinatoire: Down in the streets or up in the attic? Living through the Liberation of Paris (August 19-25, 1944): A fifth-year doctoral candidate in History of Art at Yale University, Alexandra Morrison has been living in Paris since late 2015 to research and write her dissertation, “Copying at the Louvre.” At this second edition of the “cocktail dinatoire,” Alexandra discussed the history of copying at the Louvre from 1793 through the Restoration. She presented recently discovered works painted by Julie Duvidal de Montferrier (later Hugo, the author’s sister-in-law), one of the first women to receive commissions from the state to copy in the museum in the early nineteenth century.
March 29 Wine tasting with Prof Chad Ludington: Prof. Chad Ludington (Yale '87, Columbia PhD, '03), talked about the invention of red Bordeaux and port wines. While they are entirely different wines today, they have surprising historical links. Professor Ludington discussed these links, and how the wines developed differently, while also serving examples of red Bordeaux and port to illustrate their historical development.
March 8 Cocktail dinatoire: Down in the streets or up in the attic? Living through the Liberation of Paris (August 19-25, 1944): A fifth-year doctoral student in the Department of French at Yale University, Robyn Pront is currently participating in a year-long exchange with the École Normale Supérieure and researching for her dissertation: “Liberation Fictions: Space and Memory in Representations of Liberation France.” At this "cocktail dinatoire," Robyn discussed how Édith Thomas, Robert Brasillach, and Roger Grenier—three writers from very different political backgrounds--record their experiences of the Liberation of Paris, offering us a glimpse into what it was like to live through the Liberation of Paris in August 1944.
February 23 Magic with Jen Kramer: One of America’s most celebrated magicians, Jen has been wowing audiences around the globe for over a decade with her sparkling personality and world-class sleight-of-hand. A recipient of the prestigious Merlin Award, Jen was named 2017 Female Magician of the Year by the International Magicians Society. https://youtu.be/AurW2bsepY8
