Distinguished Professor of French

The Graduate Center, CUNY
Ph.D. Program in French
City University Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016-4309 

Telephone: (212) 817-8365 
Fax: (212) 817-1602

Primary concentrations:

20th Century Literature, Poetics, Francophone Studies.

Calendar of public appearances, talks to be given by, and honors received by Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant, 2008.

March 29 The Bibliothèque de Montreuil in Montreuil, France is holding an event honoring Edouard Glissant. There will be a lecture and a reading of his poem, Les Indes, by actor Sophie Bourel and with the participation of Clorinde Zéphir. The theme of the 2008 edition of "Printemps des poètes": Eloge de l'autre :carrefours, croisements, métissages, and was inspired by Glissant's oeuvre, particularly Les Indes. For more information, click here.

March 11 Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant gave a lecture entitled "Philosophie de la Relation" at the Graduate Center. The event was part of the Henri Peyre French Institute Distinguished Lecture Series.

Calendar of public appearances, talks to be given by, and honors received by Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant, 2007.

December 9-15 Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant will preside over the awarding of this year's Prix Carbet at an international colloquium in Cayenne, French Guiana. At this event, sponsored by the Conseil Régional de l’île de France and the Ministère de l’Outre-Mer as well as by the Institut du Tout-Monde, Glissant will read his latest work, Quand les murs tombent, l’identité nationale hors-la-loi ? The colloquium will include a discussion on identity; participants include Edouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau, and the members of the Prix Carbet Jury. To read the press release for the event, click here. For more information about the Prix Carbet, visit the website dedicated to the award.

October 6 The éditions Galaade and l’Institut du Tout-Monde held an event on the occasion of the publication of Quand les murs tombent: l'identité nationale hors-la-loi? by Edouard Glissant and Patrick Chamoiseau. The event, which took place on October 6th in Paris, included a lecture by Marianne Basler, Nicole Dogué and Greg Germain. Patrick Chamoiseau, Edwy Plenel and Patrick Saurin moderated the discussion.

July 19-20 Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant was the guest of honor at the Erro biko festi bala in Itxasu (Pays Basque). "The festival's theme was La transmission, l’oralité, le Tout-Monde."

May 30-31 International colloquium "Les Chemins du Tout-Monde" took place on three stages: Fort-de-France, New York, Paris. This event inaugurated the Institut du Tout-Monde, created on Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant's initiative, and supported by the Conseil Régional d’Ile de France and the Ministère de l'Outre-mer. Participants included Jacques Coursil, Jayne Cortez, Jean Bernabé, Monchoachi, Mantia Diarawa, Abdelwahab Meddeb, Appoline Kohen, Patrick Chamoiseau and Edouard Glissant.

May 10 The Musée du Quai Branly held "La mémoire des esclavages et de leurs abolitions." Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant read from his text, Mémoires des esclavages. To view the complete program of this event, which included the reading of abolitionist texts as well as a recital, click here.

Calendar of public appearances, talks to be given by, and honors received by Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant, Spring 2004 to May 2005

April 26-28th, Carthage, Tunisia, the Tunisian Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters sponsored a three-day colloquium entitled, "Edouard Glissant, pour une poétique de la Relation : limites, épreuves, dépassement" on the work of Distinguished Professor Edouard Gilssant. For a complete program and related publications for this event, which took place April 26-28th,  click here.

April 2, 2004, Paris. Edouard Glissant will give the keynote address through video-conference at a major conference jointly organized by the Louvre and the Musée du Quai de Branly in Paris, coordinated by Serge Gruzinski, directeur de recherché at the CNRS and the EHESS. The international colloquium, entitled L’ EXPERIENCE METISSE will take place on April 2 and 3; Edouard Glissant would deliver his address in conclusion of the “Metissages et origines de la mondialisation” session.

June 19th, 2004, at the Grinzane Cavour castle in Italy. Edouard Glissant will be presented with the prestigious Grinzane Cavour 2004 award, section of foreign works, for his novel Le quatrième siècle (The Fourth Century).

June 2004, Saint-Malo, France. Participant in the Saint-Malo literary event “Etonnants voyageurs.”

June 2004, Paris, France, Université Paris VIII. University of Paris VIII and Sorbonne Nouvelle: attribution of the first Edouard Glissant Award, founded by that institution. The first recipient, in 2004, will be the distinguished writer Assia Djebar. The award is presented to “someone who has worked diligently for human emancipation and cultural diversity.” Distinguished Professor Edouard Glissant was indeed honored in 2002 by the founding of an Award in his name, celebrating his life and work, by the University of Paris 8, the Edouard Glissant Award. On 11 June, 2002, a ceremony during a one-day conference centered on Edouard Glissant’s work celebrated the founding of the award.

Summer 2004, Bologna. Edouard Glissant will receive the Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Bologna, and the university will organize a series of events around the conferring of the degree on Edouard Glissant.

September 2004, Berlin. Participant in a major cultural festival on the “Black Atlantic » whose conception was based largely on his theories and that will go on for two months until mid-November. It includes a series of encounters and conversations with writers and artists from all over the world.

During 2004, his play, Monsieur Toussaint (on Toussaint-Louverture) will be performed in France and he will participate in the various events celebrating the Bicentennial of the Haitian revolution and its Independence.

Also, in 2004, the translation of his complete poetic œuvre into English, published by University of Minnesota Press, will be coming out. There will be readings and events all over Europe, in London, in Stockholm and elsewhere. The publication of the play Monsieur Toussaint in English in April or May will be followed by events throughout English-speaking Europe. Edouard Glissant is also expected to hold a tour in Spain on the occasion of the publication of several of his works in Spanish.

September 2004 to May 2005, Paris. During the academic year, Professor Glissant’s will be invited by the University of Paris 8, Paris 3 la Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Maison des sciences de L'Homme of Paris Nord, the Université de Paris VIII and Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, where his work will be the focus of several colloquia and seminars. He will also be a guest lecturer at the Université de Paris III Sorbonne nouvelle. He will be invited to speak at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and he will be the guest of honor at a teleconference organized by Paris VIII with the Institut Culturel Jean Marie Djibaou—the premier cultural institution of New Caledonia, a former French possession in the Pacific which has known major political strife and is now an important player in South Pacific politics and culture.

November 19, 2004, Paris.  An evening celebrating Edouard Glissant's poetry and literature, with the participation of Patrick Chamoiseau and Alain
Borer will take place at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. The evening will include musical and poetic interludes by David Baird-Smith (piano), Georgina Aasgaard (cello) and Christian Gonon from the Comédie Française.