DELC Research Seminar Series: Sura Qadiri In brief Date - 9 April 2025Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Sura Qadiri (University of Cambridge)Title - Postsecular Demographies: Social Diversity in Virginie Despentes's Vernon Subutex and Sabri Louatah's Les Sauvages About the eventAbstract by Dr Sura Qadiri Recent studies on twenty-first century literature in France consider the ways in which such work increasingly responds to growing feelings of social, economic and political uncertainty that unsettle long-held beliefs about social identity and progress. In Near Chaos, Bréan and Bridet argue that near-future social unravelling is now commonly depicted in French writing across a range of genres. Alexandre Gefen suggests that French literature has taken a 'therapeutic' turn, seeking to 'do good' in society. In Repair the World: French Literature in the Twenty-first Century, Gefen posits that overarching socio-political frameworks are seen to be deficient when it comes to offering a sense of meaning and belonging to all members of French society, and literature steps in to supplement them, bringing empathy to social outlooks where this is lacking elsewhere. My work maps these ideas about the inadequacy of public discourse onto notions of the postsecular as presented by Jürgen Habermas and others, for whom the fracturing of grand social narratives, due in part to the religious diversification of Western societies, opens up a social moment of dialogue and exchange. My discussion considers how texts by Louatah and Despentes, which focus on generational, political, class and religious forms of social polyphony, dramatise these notions of dialogue, and make the case for empathy and affinity between members of society who are otherwise seen as having little in common. Read more about Dr Sura Qadiri's research on the University of Cambridge websiteAbout the speakerDr Sura Qadiri is an Assistant Professor and Director of Studies in Modern & Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. Specialising in francophone postcolonial literature, particularly from the Maghreb, her work takes a comparative approach to focus on the aesthetic, social, political and sometimes spiritual value attributed to the novel in a variety of contemporary cultural contexts. Dr Qadiri’s current book project, Reading Religion in French and Francophone Writing: Postsecular Poetics, explores how literature addresses social tensions between secular and religious ways of thinking in both France and North Africa. How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required - just come along! There will be a Q&A after the talk, and refreshments will be provided. About the seminar seriesThe DELC Research Seminar Series (DRSS) encourages collaboration and coproduction between staff and students across European Languages and Cultures and beyond.Entry is free and everyone is welcome. No registration is necessary.Are you interested in studying European Languages and Cultures?Our interdisciplinary environment brings together specialists in nine European languages, and the many cultures worldwide in which they're spoken, with experts in film, literature, theatre, translation and intermediality. Working with colleagues elsewhere in LLC, and across the wider University, we are able to support research which crosses boundaries between disciplines and/or languages. Find out more about studying with us Tags European Languages and Cultures French and Francophone Studies Apr 09 2025 17.15 - 19.00 DELC Research Seminar Series: Sura Qadiri An in-person seminar by Dr Sura Qadiri (University of Cambridge) on the intersection between politics, religion and society in francophone literature, film and visual media. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
DELC Research Seminar Series: Sura Qadiri In brief Date - 9 April 2025Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Sura Qadiri (University of Cambridge)Title - Postsecular Demographies: Social Diversity in Virginie Despentes's Vernon Subutex and Sabri Louatah's Les Sauvages About the eventAbstract by Dr Sura Qadiri Recent studies on twenty-first century literature in France consider the ways in which such work increasingly responds to growing feelings of social, economic and political uncertainty that unsettle long-held beliefs about social identity and progress. In Near Chaos, Bréan and Bridet argue that near-future social unravelling is now commonly depicted in French writing across a range of genres. Alexandre Gefen suggests that French literature has taken a 'therapeutic' turn, seeking to 'do good' in society. In Repair the World: French Literature in the Twenty-first Century, Gefen posits that overarching socio-political frameworks are seen to be deficient when it comes to offering a sense of meaning and belonging to all members of French society, and literature steps in to supplement them, bringing empathy to social outlooks where this is lacking elsewhere. My work maps these ideas about the inadequacy of public discourse onto notions of the postsecular as presented by Jürgen Habermas and others, for whom the fracturing of grand social narratives, due in part to the religious diversification of Western societies, opens up a social moment of dialogue and exchange. My discussion considers how texts by Louatah and Despentes, which focus on generational, political, class and religious forms of social polyphony, dramatise these notions of dialogue, and make the case for empathy and affinity between members of society who are otherwise seen as having little in common. Read more about Dr Sura Qadiri's research on the University of Cambridge websiteAbout the speakerDr Sura Qadiri is an Assistant Professor and Director of Studies in Modern & Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. Specialising in francophone postcolonial literature, particularly from the Maghreb, her work takes a comparative approach to focus on the aesthetic, social, political and sometimes spiritual value attributed to the novel in a variety of contemporary cultural contexts. Dr Qadiri’s current book project, Reading Religion in French and Francophone Writing: Postsecular Poetics, explores how literature addresses social tensions between secular and religious ways of thinking in both France and North Africa. How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required - just come along! There will be a Q&A after the talk, and refreshments will be provided. About the seminar seriesThe DELC Research Seminar Series (DRSS) encourages collaboration and coproduction between staff and students across European Languages and Cultures and beyond.Entry is free and everyone is welcome. No registration is necessary.Are you interested in studying European Languages and Cultures?Our interdisciplinary environment brings together specialists in nine European languages, and the many cultures worldwide in which they're spoken, with experts in film, literature, theatre, translation and intermediality. Working with colleagues elsewhere in LLC, and across the wider University, we are able to support research which crosses boundaries between disciplines and/or languages. Find out more about studying with us Tags European Languages and Cultures French and Francophone Studies Apr 09 2025 17.15 - 19.00 DELC Research Seminar Series: Sura Qadiri An in-person seminar by Dr Sura Qadiri (University of Cambridge) on the intersection between politics, religion and society in francophone literature, film and visual media. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Apr 09 2025 17.15 - 19.00 DELC Research Seminar Series: Sura Qadiri An in-person seminar by Dr Sura Qadiri (University of Cambridge) on the intersection between politics, religion and society in francophone literature, film and visual media.
