Crisis or Catastrophe?

From revolution and war to ecological collapse, colonial violence, political instability, economic precarity and public health emergencies, crisis and catastrophe have long structured French and Francophone histories, cultures and imaginaries. Who names crises and catastrophes, who benefits, and what futures do they enable or foreclose? When does crisis become catastrophe? How do crisis/catastrophe generate new aesthetics, genres or political possibilities? What forms of resistance, care or solidarity emerge from moments of crisis or catastrophe?

This conference invites proposals that examine crisis or catastrophe as historical events, lived experiences and critical frameworks within French and Francophone contexts from 1789 onwards. We welcome contributions that focus on politics, history, philosophy, cinema, media, culture and the arts, literature, language, and education that explore how crises or catastrophes are framed, aestheticised, theorised or contested, as well as work that interrogates the very language of crisis – and its affect-generating potential.