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【Lecture by Emmanuel Bouju】In the Age of Epimodernism. A Princip Principle for Literature Today（Oct. 11）
Poster
Abstract
Since the present has no sequel, no established future, it is always difficult to give it a name. The “post” solution has long prevailed, obscuring the fact that “post-ness” can itself have an “afterward”. But is the present still postmodern?
I am going to propose in this talk that we get over post-ness in the company of another prefix: epi— a prefix of remarkable richness and complexity. Epimodernism would thus set up six different relations to the heritage of modernism, by reworking its postmodern critique and rebooting, with all due post-irony, its ambition of new forms of engagement. I will be taking the example, with the Bosnian-French writer Velibor Čolić, of what I have called “a Princip Principle” for Literature Today.
―Emmanuel Bouju
Program
14:00-14:10 Introduction (Dr. Risa Matsuo)
14:10-15:40 Lecture (Prof. Emmanuel Bouju)
15:40-15:50 Break
15:50-16:20 Q&A
16:20-16:30 Summary
Speakers
Speaker
Emmanuel BOUJU: Professor of Comparative Literature at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, director of the CERC and honorary Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France. He has been Visiting Professor at Indiana University Bloomington and Harvard University. Prof. Bouju’s publications include Réinventer la littérature : démocratisation et modèles romanesques dans l’Espagne post-franquiste (with a préface by Jorge Semprún, 2002), La transcription de l’histoire. Essai sur le roman européen de la fin du vingtième siècle (2006), Fragments d’un discours théorique (2016 and 2023), and Épimodernes. Nouvelles « leçons américaines » sur l’actualité du roman (2020) / in English: Epimodernism. Six Memos for Literature Today (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2023).
Japanese-French interpreter
Nobutaka MIURA: French literature scholar and interpreter. Professor emeritus at Chuo University and advisor to the Maison Franco-Japonaise.
Moderator
Risa MATSUO: Assistant Professor at the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS), Waseda University.
Date and Time
October 11 (Sat.), 2025, 14:00-16:30
Venue
Room 711, 7th Floor, Building 19 Waseda Campus, Waseda University
Prospected Audience
Students, Graduate students, Faculty members, Research members, General participants
Language
French (with interpretation into Japanese)
Organizer
Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS), Waseda University
Pre-registration
Not required
