Art, Heritage and Conservation: A Cross-Channel Conversation

To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, President of Patrimonio Nacional, and Carole Souter, Master of St Cross College, University of Oxford, will talk about the challenges faced by the preservation of heritage, both in Spain and in England.

Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán is the current president of the Patrimonio Nacional Board; before that, he was Deputy General Director of Culture of UNESCO and has held different public positions in the field of Spanish cultural heritage.

The talk will take place in West Wing Lecture Theatre, St Cross College from 5.15 pm on March 23rd. This event is free and open to the public.

Earlier today members of our Schools Liaison team, together with enthusiastic volunteers, visited Tees Valley to meet local students and speak to them about language study. Students received taster sessions in French, German, Spanish, and Italian and learned about life at the University of Oxford.

This Language Day is part of the larger Outreach programme undertaken by the Faculty to engage with young people in regions that are historically under-represented at Oxford. We encourage talented students across Britain to follow the opportunities and careers opened up by a degree in languages — and we are here to answer any practical questions.

Galician Film Series in Oxford: Short Films Session

The fourth screening in the Galician Film Series, jointly organised by The John Rutherford Centre for Galician (University of Oxford) and the Galician Film Forum (GFF)-London, is taking place this Thursday, March 15th. This installment in the series will consist of five short films which will take you to Galicia, stopping by in London and Sweden.

The showings will take place at the Taylorian Institution; the event is free and open to the public upon registration.

Dreaming Romantic Europe - AHRC Network Grant

The Arts and Humanities Research Council has awarded a network grant to ‘Dreaming Romantic Europe’, a project led by Catriona Seth, the Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature here at Oxford, as co-investigator, and by Professor Nicola J. Watson of the Open University as Principal Investigator.

The award will make it possible to draw together individual academics, but also scholarly associations and cultural heritage institutions across Europe, which are devoted to the study and presentation of Romanticism.

Meeting with Lilian Thuram

On Thursday, March 15th we present Lilian Thuram in conversation with students and members of the public. The famous football defender, who helped France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 championships, is a UNICEF ambassador and promotes education as a way to battle racism. He will be speaking about his initiatives, which include a book My Black Stars, used in French schools.

This conversation will be convened by Dr Michael Abecassis and take place in the Holywell Music Room.

The event is free and open to all, and will be in French.

15th Annual Oxford German Graduate Symposium: Performing Philosophy

We are pleased to announce that the 15th Annual Oxford German Graduate Symposium will take place at New College on Saturday, April 21st, 2018. The theme for the Symposium is Performing Philosophy.

Our keynote speaker is Stephen Mulhall, Professor of Philosophy at Oxford and Fellow and Tutor at New College. The Symposium offers an opportunity for graduate students and Faculty members to come together and share their research in a friendly, productive setting. We particularly encourage graduate students of all stages (Master’s and DPhil) to apply to present.

Musical and Literary Approaches to the Operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau

On Friday, March 2nd Dr Jonathan Patterson, together with Dr Jonathan Williams (Director of College Music, St Hilda's College) and the Faculty of Music, will present a unique seminar: 'Musical and Literary Approaches to the Operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau'.

Dedicated to the works of the 18th-century French composer and music theorist, the seminar will explore Rameau's legacy through the integration of literary and musical analytical techniques.

This event is free and open to all.

Our annual language competitions for schools are open for entries: choose between a French script, a short story in Spanish, or from a number of projects on the theme of ‘Freundschaft – Friendship’ in German.

The age categories are from Year 5 to Year 13, depending on the competition. Winning prizes include publication and monetary rewards.

'Poetry and Emotion': A New Article by Dr Belinda Jack

A new article by Dr Belinda Jack has been published in the medical journal The Lancet. Titled 'Poetry and Emotion', the publication investigates the intimate relationship between the text and the reader, and how verse can be used to process unarticulated experiences.

Dr Jack analyses such poems as Walking Away by Cecil Day Lewis and Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas.

Conversation avec Enki Bilal

On Friday, March 2nd we present renowned comic book author and film director Enki Bilal in conversation with students and members of the public. One of the most sought-after artists in the world will talk working across genres and cultures. The conversation will be convened by Dr Michael Abecassis and take place in the Main Hall, Taylor Institution.

This event is free and open to all, and will be in French.

Professor Catriona Seth Receiving an Honorary Degree from Queen's, Belfast

Professor Catriona Seth is to receive an honorary degree from Queen's University Belfast, in acknowledgement of her achievements in the field of French literature research.

Susanna Roth Czech Translation Competition 2018

Czech Centres and the Czech Literary Centre, announce the 5th year of the International Competition for Young Translators – The Susanna Roth Prize – for young translators up to the age of forty.

The Multiple Legacies of Rosa Luxemburg: Symposium

On Friday, February 23rd the Faculty, together with The European Humanities Research Centre and Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, invites you to 'The Multiple Legacies of Rosa Luxemburg' symposium.

The event is dedicated to the life, thought and legacy of Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), one of the most creative writers of modern socialism, a leading Jewish intellectual and the foremost female theoretician of European radicalism. The symposium is free and open to the public.

Galician Film Series: Costa da morte

This Thursday, February 15th, 2018, we present the third screening in the Galician Film Series, jointly organized by The John Rutherford Centre for Galician (University of Oxford) and the Galician Film Forum (GFF)-London. Costa da Morte by Lois Patiño brings a story from the eponymous rocky, misty, and stormy part of Spain.

This screening will take place at the Taylorian Institution; it is free and open to the public upon registration.

Conversation avec Emmanuel Guibert

As part of the Seminar on Contemporary French Writing and Culture, author, illustrator, and graphic artist Emmanuel Guibert will be a guest in the ‘Conversations avec…’ series. The conversation will be convened by Professor Catriona Seth and Professor Seth Whidden and take place on Monday, February 19th at Queen’s College.

This event is free and open to all, and will be in French.

The Open Days for spring 2018 have now been announced! We welcome prospective applicants to meet our tutors and students, to have a look at libraries and classrooms, and to learn more about the admissions process and studying at Oxford.

The main Open Day at the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages is taking place on Saturday, April 28th, with additional language-specific days from February to March.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel at the Taylor Institution

Tonight at 5 pm, Noble Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel will be speaking at a joint seminar arranged by the Spanish Sub-faculty, the Latin American Centre, and the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. The talk is taking place at the Taylor Institution, Room 2 and is open to public.

Please, notice that the talk will be in Spanish, with interpretation.

Compassion’s Edge: Fellow-Feeling and its Limits in Early Modern France

Compassion’s Edge: Fellow-Feeling and its Limits in Early Modern France is a new book by Professor Katherine Ibbett, Fellow of Trinity College, which was published last year by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

15cBOOKTRADE Project in the International Media

The 15cBOOKTRADE Project (2014-2019, PI Cristina Dondi) has received considerable attention from the international media over the past two months.

Professor Seth Whidden on 'Soft Power' (France Culture)

As part of France Culture’s focus on travel, the radio show ‘Soft Power’ devoted its last episode of 2017 to Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), one of the most important poets of the nineteenth century. Among the invited guests was Seth Whidden, who recently completed a biography of Rimbaud due out later this year.