Joyce Maynard has been awarded The Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine 2021 for “Où vivaient les gens heureux” (“Count the Ways ”), published in France, on August 19, 2021 by Philippe Rey in a translation by Florence Lévy-Paoloni. Created in 2015 by Francis Geffard, bookseller, publisher and also founder of the America Festival, this Grand … Continue reading “Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine 2021 to Joyce Maynard!”
The exhibition “Sur la piste des Sioux” which opened at the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, takes us back to the origins of the limited and blinkered representation of the “American Indian” in Europe and France, and challenges many clichés . Since 1990, November is Native American Heritage Month, here is the good time to … Continue reading “Sur la piste des Sioux : the origins of “American Indian” iconography “
West Side Story – the stage musical and the film – is already a classic. Steven Spielberg wants to make it a more authentic classic for the 21st century. After many delays due to COVID, it’s finally arriving in cinemas. The Bernstein-Sondheim musical was an immediate hit on Broadway in 1957. When Robert Wise adapted … Continue reading ““West Side Story” is Back!”
On 30 November, Josephine Baker will become the sixth woman, and the first black woman, to enter France’s Panthéon, where the country honours its greatest heroes. The Franco-American dancer and singer was an active member of the Resistance in WWII and civil-rights activist in the U.S. Freda Josephine McDonald was born into poverty in St … Continue reading “Josephine Baker Enters the Panthéon”
Colin in Black and White is a new Netflix mini-series directed by Ava Duvernay. It’s ostensibly the story of Kaepernick’s high- school years, before he became an NFL Star and started his “take a knee” protests. In fact it’s a sort of manifesto with the older Kaepernick using his younger self to illustrate how he … Continue reading “Colin Kaepernick: Birth of an Activist”
Controversial U.S. broadcaster Alex Jones has been found liable in defamation cases brought in Connecticut and Texas by parents of children killed in the 2012 mass school shooting. Jones has spread conspiracy theories for years saying the shooting was a government hoax aiming at promoting gun control. Twenty children and six adults were shot dead … Continue reading “Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Found Liable for Defamation Over Sandy Hook Shooting”
F.W. De Klerk, South Africa’s last President of the apartheid era, and instrumental in ending it, has died aged 85. Frederik Willem De Klerk was born into an Afrikaner political dynasty and after a short career as a lawyer became a career politician. He was elected an MP in in 1972, scaling the ranks of … Continue reading “Death of F.W. De Klerk: Last Apartheid-Era South African President”
It’s Anti-Bullying Week in U.K. schools from 15 to 19 November. The theme is kindness, how saying one kind word can potentially break the cycle of bullying. It lends itself well to a language activity on expressing kindness. There are lots of teaching tools on the Anti-Bullying Alliance site. The secondary school lesson plan is … Continue reading “Anti-Bullying Week”
The This is England short film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for lycée classes covering topics from ballet to hip hop, flat earth theory to fox hunting. If you sign up for a lycée showing, your students will see ten films ranging in length from 1m30 to 16 minutes. There … Continue reading “Short Films with your Lycée Students”
Every year, the Education Ministry finances 400 courses in language and culture in EU countries for language teachers in primary or secondary. Applications need to be in by 17 January 2022. The two-week courses take place during the summer holidays. This year there are two in Dublin and two in Norwich (England), from 11 to … Continue reading “Travel to Dublin or Norwich for Language Training Courses”
