Submitted by Luc Borot on Thu, 18/06/2009 - 14:28

While the world watches in bewilderment the intensity of the protest and the violence of the repression in Iran’s post-electoral turmoil, we are (re-)discovering the idiosyncrasies of the Islamic Republic’s constitution. Its dual structure subordinates the democratic, electoral structure to  the dominant, theocratic hierarchy. Elections (showcasing an appearance of democracy in this case) operate within an overall mollah-ruled system. The people’s elected rulers are, in their turn, ruled by the interpreters of the divine law, to whom they must turn for legitimisation.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Mon, 15/06/2009 - 16:01

Next Friday, on 19 June, we shall host the second lecture of our series on Innovation, organised with the Académie des technologies and the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford. Our speaker, Prof. Jacques Lesourne, has been for several decades a decisive participant in the public debate on science, politics and society in France. His continued involvement in prospective makes him a capital witness in the ongoing debates on the French reforms of  higher education and research.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Mon, 01/06/2009 - 10:56

"Diversity" is the name of a street-dance group who won the "Britain's Got Talent" (BGT) television competition last Saturday. They are a group of extremely talented, dynamic, humourous, humble and inspring boys and young men from a wide array of geographic origins, extremely representative of the Britain of today. Their victory is eminently deserved, and I'm not using the blog of the director of the MFO to criticise "The Great British Public" for their choice.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Fri, 22/05/2009 - 11:26

On 4 and 5 June, we shall be hosting a conference on political rituals. Anthropologists have shown how power needs ritualisation, or monstration, to be effective, both from the point of view of those in power and from that of the people under the said power. Induction rites provide power with the marks of authority, or, in other words, they authorise power.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Thu, 21/05/2009 - 14:57

On 8 May 2009, His Excellency M. Maurice Gourdault-Montagne paid a visit to the Maison Française and to the Voltaire Foundation. A professed supporter of the Humanities and Social Sciences, M. Gourdault-Montagne met the scholars, students and staff of the two institutions, and showed his interest for their work, and his real knowledge of the topics they work on. He expressed his desire to see the collaboration between them flourish, and confirmed his appreciation of their work.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Tue, 10/03/2009 - 17:33
At the end of the week, the Maison is organising two events that some people may think thematically unrelated, but whose connections ought to strike a chord in the hearts of those who hate to see knowledge divided between the alleged “two cultures” of science and the “liberal arts”.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:47
In my two previous posts, I tried to outline some of the differences that define French and British attitudes to the relation between the state  and religions, and towards the inclusion of religion and science in public debates. Distinction and selection in education are also areas in which our two countries differ, at least in their perception thereof. Our research project on Social distinction and social elites broadens the comparison to Europe, with occasional perspectives on Africa.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Mon, 02/03/2009 - 12:25

Michel Onfray has been staging his sometimes quixotic challenge to religious culture qua repression and delusion for the past decade. A constant flow of books, DVDs, CDs and TV programs publicise his struggles, not without missionary undertones.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Mon, 02/03/2009 - 12:19

In the next two weeks, our Maison will host a debate on Cécile Laborde’s book on French republicanism and the question of religious pluralism, and a conference on Darwin and Lamarck. We are going to encounter some of the most publicised controversies in our two countries.

Submitted by Luc Borot on Tue, 17/02/2009 - 23:50

On 12 February, the modern French literature seminar convened by Prof. Michael Sheringham had changed its schedule to welcome three leading representatives of the Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle (or Oulipo) founded 49 odd years ago by François Le Lyonnais and Raymond Queneau.