Vive la différence: Recent Episodes
Laurent Dubreuil
Vive la différence is a Podcast series on controversial issues affecting contemporary French society, seen through a trans-Atlantic prism. From race to gender, from Antisemitism to the aftermath of colonialism, this podcast series does not shy away from complicated, and hotly debated, topics. Vive la différence because this Podcast is about differences between France and the US. Vive la différence because French society today is multiple and differential. Vive la différencebecause differences of opinion are key to democratic life. Vive la différence because this Podcast will not tell you what to think but invite you to agree to disagree.
This series is created by the French Studies Program at Cornell, thanks to a special grant awarded by the French Embassy to the United States of America. The host is Laurent Dubreuil, a Professor and the Director of French studies at Cornell University. His guests are scholars in French or Francophone studies. Jacob Matthews, a doctoral student in French at Cornell, is the Producer. The views represented by the guests and the host in this show do not necessarily reflect those of the French Embassy to the USA, Cornell University, its College of Arts and Sciences or its French Studies Program.
In this episode (in French), Sophie Wahnich is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Together, they explore the manifold repercussions of the myths and realities of the French Revolution on contemporary political life in France. In particular, this discussion considers the current reactivation of revolutionary moments in grassroot activism, including the Gilets Jaunes/Yellow Vest movement.
Dr. Sophie Wahnich is a Director of Research in History at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique.
In this episode, Anne Berger is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Far from being only a concern for the “ivory tower,” practices and theories of gender are being hotly debated in the French-speaking public sphere—from the mariage pour tousand manif pour tous movements to the translation of #MeToointo #BalanceTonPorc to the ongoing dispute about the spelling and orthography of the French language in relation to “inclusive writing” (écriture inclusive).Together, and with a in a trans-Atlantic viewpoint, Berger and Dubreuil consider these topics as well as the recent rise of gender studies in French Academia.
Dr. Anne Berger is a Professor Emerita of French Literature and Gender Studies at the Université Paris-8 as well as an Adjunct Professor of French at Cornell.
In this episode, Mame Fatou Niang is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Together, they explore some aspects of what it means to “be black” in France, paying a particular attention to questions of history, memory, symbols, and representation. They also exchange on their own biographical trajectories in an attempt to explain a certain malaise that they both feel vis-à-vis French society today.
Dr. Mame-Fatou Niang is an Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Carnegie-Mellon University.
Recorded April 11th, 2022. Featuring Mame Fatou Niang, Rick MacArthur, Laurent Ferri, and Mabel Berezin.
In this episode, Bruno Chaouat is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Together, they explore the different kinds of Antisemitism that have grown within French society over the last few centuries. The focus is on the post-world war II period, the role of Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1946 essay Anti-Semite and Jew, as well as the current reconfigurations of an old debate and the now widespread “historical” parallel between today Arabs and yesterday Jews.
In this episode, Imane Terhmina is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Together they explore some aspects of the unending aftermath of French colonialism in both the former métropole and Africa. Issues of individual and collective memories and identities are at the center of this exchange touching on the making of national, and transnational, cultures.
Dr. Imane Terhmina is an Assistant Professor of Francophone Studies at Cornell University.
In this episode, Norman Ajari is Laurent Dubreuil’s guest. Together, they discuss the expanding role of police and policing, to the expense of political life, in contemporary France. This exchange provides the opportunity to address the ongoing mutations affecting the definition of racism (and anti-racism) in France, in the wake of the BLM movement and in relation to the radical tradition of Black thinkers.
Dr. Norman Ajari is a Lecturer in Francophone Black Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
The authoritarian structure of social media, the growing control favored by the governmental responses to the pandemic, as well as many societal changes affecting France have probably altered, and hurt, the social values of dissent. Still, even a simple comparison between the state of public debate in, say, Paris and NYC should be enough to convince observers that differences of opinion continueto be more easily acknowledged in France for what they are: a vital part of the democratic process. From race to gender, from Antisemitism to the aftermath of colonialism, this podcast series does not shy away from hot, complicated, topics and will invite its listeners to agree to disagree.
The host of Vive la Différence, Dr. Laurent Dubreuil is a Professor of Romance Studies, Comparative Literature, and Cognitive Science at Cornell University where he also serves as the Director of French Studies.