THE BELOW EVENTS ARE IN-PERSON EVENTS AND WILL NOT BE LIVE STREAMING.

Please be sure to register for each event individually by selecting the appropriate date to ensure your registration for each event!

ABOUT THE PROGRAMS

Monday, October 28th
Venue: 1126 E 59th St., Room 201 (Social Science Research Building Tea Room)
Hosted by the French Chicago Center

Simon Leys, China, and the French Imagination

The Belgian art historian Pierre Ryckmans, better known under his pseudonym of Simon Leys, intervened in French political debates at the time of May ’68 and the waning Cultural Revolution from a position that was rare at the time—one of sustained and intimate engagement with Chinese culture. His polemics sparked intense controversy at the time, but have held up better than the glowing reports of a new Maoist civilization. Excluded from French academic institutions, he taught Chinese literature and art history at the Australian National University for decades, publishing on contemporary China as well as translating the Analects. Dr. Idier will situate the life and work of Simon Leys in the context of French-language conceptions of China.

A reception will be held following the conclusion of the program.

Tuesday, October 29th
Venue: 1155 E 60th St., Room 319 (Center for East Asian Studies Conference Room)
Hosted by the Center for East Asian Studies

Keeping Up: Engagement with China After Your Degree is in Hand

Since taking his doctorate in Chinese art history at the Sorbonne, Nicolas Idier has “kept up” with China by residing in Beijing for four years as cultural attaché at the French embassy, followed by four years in New Delhi at a similar post; by fashioning a personal China in his novels The Music of Stones and New Youth; by serving as a counselor for French government ministries and the national education system. He describes himself as enough of a Confucian to engage in state affairs and enough of a Daoist to preserve a core of anarchist values. In this talk, the omnipresent but often silenced question will be addressed: what comes after the Ph.D if not a classic teaching career?

Lunch will be provided to those who register.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Nicolas Idier holds a PhD in Art History from the Sorbonne. His diplomatic career has taken him to China and India as cultural officer. His novels have been shortlisted for major literary awards such as the Prix Décembre, the Prix Médicis, the Prix Jean Freustié de l’Académie française, the Prix Saint-Malo/Etonnants Voyageurs and the Prix Le Figaro. Matignon la nuit (2024), his latest novel, offers a glimpse into the back corridors of power in our era of 24/7 political stagecraft. He is presently an inspector in the French Ministry of Education.

SPONSORSHIP

The above-events are co-sponsored by the French Chicago Center, and the Center for East Asian Studies with support in part by grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI National Resource Centers program. This program's content does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and one should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY

Please note that there may be photography taken during this educational event by the University of Chicago Center for East Asian Studies for archival and publicity purposes. By attending this event, participants are confirming their permission to be photographed and the University of Chicago’s right to use, distribute, copy, and edit the recordings in any form of media for non-commercial, educational purposes, and to grant rights to third parties to do any of the foregoing.

Nicolas Idier Lecture & Workshop