Michaël Ferrier at The Ohio State University
Talk
Michael Ferrier
Ohio State University - Centre d'Excellence
200 Hagerty Hall 1775 College Road
Columbus, OH, US 43210
January 26 & February 2, 2022
This winter, The Ohio State University’s Jules Verne Writing Residency hosts its inaugural writer, Michaël Ferrier, a French novelist and essayist as well as Professor at Chuo University in Tokyo (Japan) and Director of the Research Group Figures de l’Étranger.
During his time at The Ohio State University, Michael Ferrier will work on a book on American architect Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983). “It is part of a trilogy about three major scientists, but whose work is hardly known to the public (the two others are the Japanese physicist Nakaya Ukichirô, 1900-1962, and the Hungarian biologist Tibor Gánti, 1933-2009),” explains Ferrier. He will also participate in two public events:
Wednesday, January 26 I In Search of the Fault Line
5pm ET I Online on Zoom
All around us the world is shaking. Where are the fault lines? How do we describe them, reveal them? For what purpose? These are perhaps the first questions a writer must ask themself today, in these devastating times. The answers to these questions are multiple, often contradictory—and it is not even certain that the writer is the best person to answer them! However, it’s not a pointless exercise. Using the examples of his own books, Michaël Ferrier will try to show that writing can lead not only to a literary or aesthetic debate, but also to a redefinition of our presence in the world which, as our current world collapses before our eyes, seems more fragile—and more vital—than ever.
Registration
Wednesday, February 2 I Over Seas of Memory
7-8pm ET I In-Person I Beachwood Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library I 25501 Shaker Blvd, Beachwood, OH 44122
As Ferrier interlaces his family’s intimate story with the larger story of colonialism’s lasting and complicated impact—including the racial and ethnic divisions it fomented—he engages with critical issues in contemporary France concerning national and cultural identity.
Register for the event here.
In partnership with
Center of Excellence – The Ohio State University
In December 2020, the Department of French and Italian at Ohio State University was selected by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States to join its prestigious network of Centers of Excellence. Housed at 22 major research universities in the US, Centers of Excellence receive yearly financial support and project-based support. The Center for Excellence at Ohio State aims to promote French and Francophone Literature and Culture in the Midwest. The Center’s main focus is the Jules Verne Writing Residency. The Residency provides a space of creation and reflection to a Francophone writer who works on a literary project during their time at OSU.
