Vodou: Spirits, Journeys and Metaphysics

This public lecture by historian Laurence Badel examines how women entered the field of official diplomacy and gained access to state responsibilities. It traces a long and complex process, from the informal influence of aristocratic women in diplomatic circles to the gradual professionalisation of women diplomats from the 1920s to the 1970s. The talk highlights the first appointments of women as heads of mission in the interwar period, often shaped by political and discretionary choices, as well as the broader role of international organisations in fostering the feminisation of diplomacy. It also considers the growing presence of women from African, Asian, and Latin American contexts in shaping international affairs during the 20th century.

In French.

This academic meeting is a discussion of the volume The I.B. Tauris Handbook of the Late Ottoman Empire, bringing together scholars to examine recent historiographical developments in the late Ottoman period and its legacies. The book offers a wide-ranging synthesis of current research, covering political, social, and cultural transformations from the late Ottoman Empire through its post-imperial aftermath. The event focuses on how recent scholarship has reinterpreted key themes such as nationalism, violence, state formation, and imperial collapse, while also highlighting new interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the region.

In French and English.