Presented by Dr. Joël Castonguay-Bélanger (Associate Professor of French), FHIS
Respondent: Mary Cook (PhD Student of French), FHIS
About the talk:
In The Dawn of Everything (2021), David Graeber and David Wengrow propose a bold reexamination of humanity’s history, challenging the conventional narrative surrounding the origins of social inequality. Central to their thesis is the idea that 18th-century Enlightenment philosophers were significantly influenced by an “indigenous critique” arising in North America—a perspective that, they argue, has been largely overlooked by mainstream Enlightenment historiography. While their work has sparked objections from critics and historians on several fronts, it has also garnered considerable enthusiasm, reigniting public debate about 18th-century literature and intellectual history. In this talk, Joël Castonguay-Bélanger will discuss these polarized reactions and their implications for understanding the intellectual climate of our time.
Registration:
About the FHIS Research Seminar: Hosted by the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS), the Research Seminar is an opportunity to explore current research and ideas related to the languages, literatures and cultures of the Romance language-speaking world, with presentations from faculty members, graduate students, and/or guest speakers. All are welcome.
If you have questions, please contact Dr. Katharina Piechocki (katharina.piechocki@ubc.ca).
UBC Vancouver is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People.
