University of Southampton, UK, 6-7 July 2001

This conference will provide a unique forum for examining the social and cultural forms of the long twentieth century in France and America. By examining the French and American experiences together, the conference aims, firstly, to disrupt and re-evaluate the discourses of exceptionalism which have marked both French and American studies, and, secondly, to provide an opportunity for rethinking exchanges between the two cultures. To this end, the organisers hope to establish a dialogue between Americanists and scholars in French cultural and historical studies, as well as attracting those working in more comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. Plenary speakers currently include Elaine Tyler May (author of Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era and Barren in the Promised Land: Childless Americans and the Pursuit of Happiness ) and Kristin Ross (author of Fast Cars, Clean Bodies: Decolonization and the Reordering of French Culture).