Academic seminars explore political history and literary imaginaries

Academic research seminars are being organized at Sorbonne Université and Université Paris Nanterre focusing on the intersection of history, politics, and literature.

At Sorbonne Université, a seminar led by François Foronda explores ‘Political Europe’ through comparative history. One program, ‘The Imagined Palace (II)’, examines the 14th-century architectural fever that led to the rise of ‘State palaces’ in Europe. The research investigates how these spaces reflected changing governmental regimes and how palaces were represented in literature, dreams, and manuscripts.

At Université Paris Nanterre, the LIPO research team is conducting a seminar titled ‘Poetic Imaginaries - Political Imaginaries’ for the 2026-2027 period. The program includes diverse topics such as Maghrebian literatures, 20th-century French and Italian literature, prophetic figures in Jewish literature, feminist literary engagement, and the concept of ‘matrimoine’ in the humanities.