International conference on French author Maurice Blanchot

2 August 2004

An international conference on the work of influential French critic and author Maurice Blanchot is being held in Melbourne this week.

Mr Blanchot who died in 2003, was a reclusive but seminal figure in French literature whose work has influenced luminaries such as Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida.

Keynote speakers at the 'Blanchot, the Obscure' conference include French critic and philosopher Professor Christophe Bident - author of the definitive biography on Mr Blanchot, and Professor Leslie Hill from the University of Warwick in the UK, who is one of the most respected critics of experimental French fiction and post-structuralism.

Australian poet and academic Kevin Hart a professor of English at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA, will also be a keynote speaker.

The conference has been organised by Monash's Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts, in association with Monash postgraduate journal Colloquy.

An exhibition featuring works inspired by Maurice Blanchot can also be viewed alongside the conference. The exhibition White Light: witnessing witness features works by French artist Francois Martin, Melbourne artist, sculptor and Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) lecturer Dr Elizabeth Presa, as well as works from VCA students.

What: 'Blanchot, the Obscure' conference and White Light: witnessing witness art exhibition
Keynote speakers: Professor Christophe Bident, Professor Leslie Hill and Professor Kevin Hart
When:Thursday 19 - Friday 20 August 2004
Where: Alliance Francaise, 17 Robe Street, St Kilda

For further information contact Ms Gail Ward, Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Monash University on +61 3 9905 2208, or Ms Ingrid Sanders, Media Communications, Monash University on +61 5 9905 9201.