Alain Mabanckou, novelist and professor of literature at UCLA, is known for his vibrant, lyrical French and award-winning fiction, including the Renaudot-winning Mémoires de porc-épic and internationally translated titles. In conversation with journalist Pascal Schouwey, Mabanckou discusses themes of exile, identity and language, and reads from his latest novel Ramsès de Paris, exploring its humour, irony and storytelling strategies that reinvent diasporic narratives.
In French.
Bruno Marchand, professor emeritus at EPFL, leads this five-part lecture series designed for newcomers to architectural history. He brings his academic experience to introduce key figures and approaches in Geneva’s twentieth-century modernity.
The course examines five monographic approaches focused on architects whose urban thinking and buildings have permanently shaped Geneva’s territory and landscape. Sessions investigate themes such as technical progress, Miesian legacy, Le Corbusier’s influence and the plastic use of concrete, revealing how modernity transformed the city.
In French.
Programme:
– Monday 2 February, 12:15: Maurice Braillard and the early foundations of Genevan modernity
– Monday 2 March, 12:15: The architecture of Marc-Joseph Saugey: technology and progress
– Monday 16 March, 12:15: The architecture of Jean-Marc Lamunière: the legacy of Mies and postmodernity
– Monday 20 April,12:15: The architecture of André Gaillard, in the wake of Eugène Beaudouin
– Monday 11 May, 12:15: The architecture of Georges Brera: the influence of Le Corbusier and the plasticity of concrete
This reading group will explore, in eight sessions, a selection of literary works that have “transcended the time and place of their origin,” in the spirit of Martin Bodmer’s definition of Weltliteratur — or world literature — as dear to Goethe. A literary journey across time and continents, guided by the shared affinities of the participants.
Historian of art, Hélène Leibkutsch moves between languages and cultures, driven by her passion for art, literature, and music. She holds a Master of Arts from the University of Geneva, where she studied art history, general linguistics, and English, as well as a CAS in Cultural Institution Promotion from the University of Neuchâtel. With international experience in art history and the art market, she has maintained a deep interest in literature throughout her career. She served on the board of the Société de Lecture, acting as vice-president for two terms (2008–2010; 2012–2019), and chaired the Reading Commission (2010–2021), where she remains an active member.
In French.
Marlène Laruelle, PhD, professor at Luiss University and director of the Illiberalism Studies Program, presents an analytical lecture on the changing normative foundations of Western democracies. Drawing on her edited volume The Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism (Oxford University Press, 2024) and comparative research, she examines why illiberal ideas gain traction, exploring socioeconomic inequality, technocratic governance, cultural dislocation and weakening narratives of progress. Laruelle assesses whether liberalism is being reformed, reconfigured, or replaced, and considers implications for democratic norms and international order.
In English.
Lionel Gauthier, a PhD in geography and director of the Musée du Léman in Nyon, previously taught at the University of Geneva and led the Médiathèque Valais-Martigny.
The lecture examines two millennia of mapping the lake, from the Tabula Peutingeriana to the 2014 multibeam sonar bathymetry. Gauthier investigates how place-names evolved, how the lake’s borders were drawn, why some old maps depict it ‘upside down’, and how cartography shaped local narratives.
In French.
Lucy Lagier, specialist in early modern history and author of a bachelor’s thesis on ceremonial display and royal image in the sixteenth century, will begin a Master’s in General History at the University of Neuchâtel.
This lecture examines the politics of appearance around Elizabeth I, exploring how clothing and jewellery signalled social rank and inner identity. It investigates the influence of Protestant norms on her aesthetic choices and considers whether crafted imagery contributed to the acquisition and preservation of monarchical power.
In French.
Emmanuel Rondeau, financier and bank administrator and author of Les frères d’Astier de La Vigerie, Français libres (Tallandier, 2025), combines family memory and historical inquiry. He examines three members of the d’Astier de la Vigerie family — each with divergent public roles yet united in their commitment to the French Resistance — to reveal how personal convictions shaped national destiny. The lecture explores political identity, courage and the moral complexities of resistance, told with close knowledge and narrative panache.
In French.
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