1968 in 2018: Geographies and Temporalities of Mai 68
April 27, 2018 • 1:00-5:00PM
Columbia University, Buell Hall, East Gallery
Imen Amiri, Ludivine Bantigny, Françoise Blum, Julian Bourg, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Frédéric Gros, Kristin Ross, and Emmanuelle Saada
Revolts, revolutions and calls to resistance have shaped the 2010s globally. In this context, the 50th anniversary of Mai 68 calls less for a commemoration than for a reflection on the spatial and temporal parameters of the events of Mai 68 and their relevance today.
Traditional narratives locate the events of 1968 on a line running from Paris to New York, via Prague, Beijing and Tokyo. We would like to also consider an alternative geography that includes Dakar, Madagascar, and Tunis. We intend to question the historical sequence in which Mai 68 makes sense. How can we interpret the different movements that challenged relations of power around race, gender, sexuality, labor, culture and knowledge as an ensemble? How did they shape subsequent political conflicts and how do they resonate with current political and social struggles?
