If you start noticing more international visitors around Reno next week, the University of Nevada, Reno may be the reason.
The campus will host the 51st annual Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium, bringing scholars from around the world to explore the literatures, arts, and cultures of France and the Francophone world.
The conference, taking place Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, is hosted by the Department of World Languages and Literatures within the College of Liberal Arts, with support from the College of Liberal Arts, the Core Humanities program, and the Departments of English, History, and Philosophy.
The event focuses on the long nineteenth century, spanning 1789 to 1914, a period of rapid social, political, and artistic change in France.
This year’s theme, “play,” examines how leisure, games, and risk became hallmarks of modern life.
Paris’s public parks, theatres, cafés, and department stores were designed with enjoyment in mind, while on the French Riviera, the Monte Carlo Casino catered to similar impulses.
Literature, art, and music of the era reflected this spirit, embracing experimentation and mixing styles from previous movements.
Topics at the conference include games, gambling, risk-taking, lotteries, sports, wealth and fortune, vacation and holidays, entertainment, children’s literature, jokes and pranks, and the many forms of play in nineteenth-century culture.
Presenters will include faculty, graduate students, and researchers sharing original work and engaging with colleagues from across the globe.
For Nevada, a state known for its casinos and tourism, the conference highlights connections between local leisure and gaming culture and historical French traditions of play and entertainment.