Maison Française d'Oxford
Encyclopedia
The Maison Française d’Oxford (MFO, or just Maison Française locally) is a French
research centre in the humanities
and social sciences
and a member of the Network of French Research Institutes Established Abroad (IFRE) by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
, the Maison Française works towards a better integration of French research in the humanities
and social sciences
in international networks, especially in the English-speaking world.
In 1999, it became a research centre of the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (INSHS) of the CNRS, and, as such, it develops research programmes with academic institutions of the University of Oxford
and other British universities.
at the time and which brought together a community of francophile students.
However, it was not until after the Second World War, in more favourable circumstances, that this project was fully realised. The support that the United Kingdom had provided to the Free French had provoked a desire to consolidate the links between the two sides of the Channel, in cultural as much as academic terms.
The Maison Française was brought to life at the beginning of the academic year in 1946, thanks to the initiatives of the archaeologist Claude Schaeffer and under the guidance of Henri Fluchère, renowned academic, and a specialist of Shakespeare.
The current building was erected on an empty site on the north side of Norham Road
in North Oxford
, opposite Bradmore Road during 1961–2. It was designed by Jacques Laurent with Brian Ring, Howard & Partners.
The name "Maison Française" was chosen in reference to the pavilions of the Cité Internationale Universitaire
that opened in Paris in 1925 with the same peaceable ideals.
.
The Maison Française was to constitute a new kind of institution, intended to promote academic, scientific and cultural exchange under the shared responsibility of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Universities of Paris and Oxford
.
So, besides the establishment of a genuine library with a substantial collection, series of conferences and debates were organised where French literary and scientific figures — such as Albert Camus
, François Mauriac
, André Gide
, Maurice Merleau-Ponty
ou Jacques Lacan
— came to present their research and to exchange with their British counterparts.
From the very beginning, the MFO organised exhibitions, concerts, theatre productions and cinema screenings, in the hope of more widely promoting cultural prestige in all its aspects.
Important changes in direction have been made since the 1980s. Given that the media provide increasing access to French cultural production, and that other institutions in both London
and Oxford are dedicated to the diffusion of French language and culture, the MFO's activities as a cultural centre have become less significant.
At the moment, the missions of the Maison Française especially focus on academic co-operation and research. This evolution was clearly marked by the establishment of a CNRS research unit within the MFO in 1999. In 2010–11, this research unit is composed of eight researchers grouped into different areas of study: history of science, European literature and civilisation, sociology, history or political science.
The MFO is also home to a group of junior researchers (post-docs or research fellows) and research students, reading for Master's degrees or doctorates. The research students are affiliated to institutes and colleges of the University, and take part in the activities of the MFO. To that end, the MFO collaborates with several French research institutions and universities whose students spend periods of three months to an academic year there.
but, more importantly, organise interdisciplinary programmes, conferences, seminars and other events in collaboration with members of the University. The MFO organises and/or hosts events ranging from single-speaker lectures or seminars, day-workshops on specialist topics, through to two or three-day conferences.
Research programmes include:
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
research centre in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and a member of the Network of French Research Institutes Established Abroad (IFRE) by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Overview
With the support of the Chancery of the Universities of Paris and the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, the Maison Française works towards a better integration of French research in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
in international networks, especially in the English-speaking world.
In 1999, it became a research centre of the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (INSHS) of the CNRS, and, as such, it develops research programmes with academic institutions of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and other British universities.
Origin and historical context
The idea of establishing a French presence at the heart of the British academic world dates back to at least the beginning of the 20th century. It was defended in particular by the members of the French Club, which existed at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
at the time and which brought together a community of francophile students.
However, it was not until after the Second World War, in more favourable circumstances, that this project was fully realised. The support that the United Kingdom had provided to the Free French had provoked a desire to consolidate the links between the two sides of the Channel, in cultural as much as academic terms.
The Maison Française was brought to life at the beginning of the academic year in 1946, thanks to the initiatives of the archaeologist Claude Schaeffer and under the guidance of Henri Fluchère, renowned academic, and a specialist of Shakespeare.
The current building was erected on an empty site on the north side of Norham Road
Norham Road
Norham Road lies east off Banbury Road in central North Oxford, a suburb in the city of Oxford, England.- Location :The road is within the Norham Manor area. It consists mainly of large Victorian houses, many of three storeys above ground with a basement below...
in North Oxford
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....
, opposite Bradmore Road during 1961–2. It was designed by Jacques Laurent with Brian Ring, Howard & Partners.
The name "Maison Française" was chosen in reference to the pavilions of the Cité Internationale Universitaire
Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris
The Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris , also known under its abbreviation of CIUP or often as Cité U among Parisiens, is a private park and foundation located in Paris, France...
that opened in Paris in 1925 with the same peaceable ideals.
Mission and principles
The mission and the principles of the Maison Française, such as they are defined by the University of Oxford’s decree of 22 October 1946 that confirmed its foundation, ruled out the idea of it being a teaching institution in its own right. So, there was no question of establishing a new College, nor even a branch of the Alliance françaiseAlliance française
The Alliance française , or AF, is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. created in Paris on 21 July 1883, its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris -History:The Alliance was created in Paris...
.
The Maison Française was to constitute a new kind of institution, intended to promote academic, scientific and cultural exchange under the shared responsibility of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Universities of Paris and Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
So, besides the establishment of a genuine library with a substantial collection, series of conferences and debates were organised where French literary and scientific figures — such as Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, François Mauriac
François Mauriac
François Mauriac was a French author; member of the Académie française ; laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature . He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur .-Biography:...
, André Gide
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
, Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir...
ou Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
— came to present their research and to exchange with their British counterparts.
From the very beginning, the MFO organised exhibitions, concerts, theatre productions and cinema screenings, in the hope of more widely promoting cultural prestige in all its aspects.
Important changes in direction have been made since the 1980s. Given that the media provide increasing access to French cultural production, and that other institutions in both London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Oxford are dedicated to the diffusion of French language and culture, the MFO's activities as a cultural centre have become less significant.
At the moment, the missions of the Maison Française especially focus on academic co-operation and research. This evolution was clearly marked by the establishment of a CNRS research unit within the MFO in 1999. In 2010–11, this research unit is composed of eight researchers grouped into different areas of study: history of science, European literature and civilisation, sociology, history or political science.
The MFO is also home to a group of junior researchers (post-docs or research fellows) and research students, reading for Master's degrees or doctorates. The research students are affiliated to institutes and colleges of the University, and take part in the activities of the MFO. To that end, the MFO collaborates with several French research institutions and universities whose students spend periods of three months to an academic year there.
Scientific activities
The MFO hosts a team of senior researchers from the INSHS who conduct their own research at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
but, more importantly, organise interdisciplinary programmes, conferences, seminars and other events in collaboration with members of the University. The MFO organises and/or hosts events ranging from single-speaker lectures or seminars, day-workshops on specialist topics, through to two or three-day conferences.
Research programmes include:
- Classics
- History of Science
- Modernities
- Nation and Globalization
- Digital Humanities
- French literature between modernity and post-modernity
Library
The Maison Française houses a study and information centre devoted to French culture and society. Its collection is made up of 40,000 books, around 50 periodicals, and a video library composed of more than 600 French movies. Its catalogue is linked to that of the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Online resources
To promote access to the research and the events organised at the Maison Française, a large number of presentations are recorded and directly accessible via its website as podcasts or reports.Sources
- Fluchère, Marie-Louise, La Maison Française à Oxford il y a 50 ans, self-published, 1996
- Vercoutter, Jean, « Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Claude Schaeffer-Forrer, membre de l'Académie », Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 1989, vol. 133, n°1, p. 178-188
- Catto, Jeremy (s.d.), The History of the University of Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1994.
- MFO's archives (Activities report et archives files, Schaeffer in particular)
Related articles
- Network of French Research Institutes Established Abroad
- Chancery of the Universities of Paris
- University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
- French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
- French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)