Participants in the conference will reflect on the ways in which different disciplines (literature, history, philosophy, film, sociology, science, art, and more) within the French and Francophone traditions attempt to "make sense" of man and his place in the world -- or attempt to do away with "sense-making" altogether. How does a poet, a philosopher, a filmmaker, an anthropologist, or a physicist "make sense" of his or her chosen subject? What happens when he or she fails to do so? Under what circumstances is it appropriate or appealing to not make sense? Speakers will offer 20-minute presentations from a wide range of disciplines and time periods (covering the Middle Ages through the 21st century).

More information is available at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/french/graduate/confs.htm