Thomas Flahaut, novelist and dramatist trained at the Swiss Literary Institute of Biel, has published several novels with Éditions de l’Olivier and poetry at Castor Astral.

This workshop builds a collective “Geneva Directory of Monsters”, mapping strange, dreamlike and horrific urban phenomena and imagining monsters that inhabit spaces of social violence. Participants will examine the hybrid zone between reality and the fantastic to explore how fiction can reveal urban tensions and make visible hidden forms of violence.

In French.

Marie NDiaye, winner of the Prix Femina and the Prix Goncourt, is one of the leading voices in contemporary francophone literature. Her work investigates filiation, exile, questions of identity and relations of domination. This meeting revisits her remarkable career, examines her writing process and probes the major themes that run through her oeuvre, offering critical insight into narrative strategies and ethical concerns.

In French.

André Ourednik, Heike Fiedler and Begoña Feijoo Fariña reflect on the relationships between writing, plurilingualism, creative practice and cultural contexts. The roundtable investigates how authors navigate multiple languages in their work, the effects of linguistic hybridity on narrative form, and the role of translation, memory and belonging in artistic creation. The discussion is moderated by Mélanie Chappuis today.

In French.

Syrian poet Hanadi Zarka, author of several Arabic poetry collections translated abroad, reflects on her writing practice and the resonances between her work and that of Mahmoud Darwich. Drawing on her recent international residency within the ICORN programme, she discusses her poetic process and trajectory before reading an unpublished poem translated for the occasion by Zina Maleh. The conversation will be held in Arabic with French interpretation by Asmae Ghailan.

In Arabic with a French translation.

Dr Bruno Bernardi, a Rousseau specialist and author on the conceptual history of political modernity, and Nicolas Régis, magistrate and référendaire counsellor at the French Court of Cassation, bring philosophical and legal expertise.

This lecture examines tensions between law, democracy and popular sovereignty through readings of Agamben, probing how notions of the rule of law can both protect and constrain popular sovereignty. Speakers investigate liberal and illiberal conceptions, the erosion of democratic principles, and the role of legal institutions in defending democratic legitimacy.

In French.

An audiovisual parcours immerses visitors in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s life and work, arguing that his writings continue to provoke contemporary debate. Through seven thematic niches, the presentation examines Rousseau’s paradoxes — from individual freedom to social critique — and invites reflection on how his ideas anticipate modern challenges. The session explores tensions in his thought and encourages critical questioning of present assumptions, revealing why Rousseau remains relevant for current political and cultural discussions.

In English at 11:30 am
In French at 2 pm