International symposium "Festivals in the Americas: histories, practices, policies", October 12-14

International symposium organized by the research centers CESSMA-Centre d'études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatiques(Inalco-Université Paris Cité-IRD), CERMA-Centre de recherches sur les mondes américains (EHESS), American Worlds (EHESS-CNRS), CRIMIC-Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires sur les Mondes Ibériques Contemporains (Sorbonne Université), CRINI-Centre de Recherche sur les Identités, les Nations et l'Interculturalité (Nantes Université), the Ecos Sud program and the GIS IdA-Institut des Amériques.

From Wednesday, October 12 to Friday, October 14, 2022 - Maison de la recherche - Auditorium Dumézil
Inalco, Maison de la recherche - 2, rue de Lille - 75007 Paris

Schedules
- Wednesday, October 12: 16:30-20:00
- Thursday, October 13: 09:30-18:00
- Friday, October 14: 09:30-19:00

Organizing committee

Anath Ariel de Vidas, anthropologist, director of research at CNRS (Mondes Américains CERMA-EHESS)
Marie Chosson, lecturer in anthropology and ethnolinguistics at INALCO (CESSMA)
Aurélie Godet, lecturer in US history at Nantes Université (CRINI)
Federico Lifschitz, PhD student in anthropology at EHESS (Mondes Américains CERMA-EHESS)
Françoise Martinez, professor of Latin American history and civilizations at Sorbonne Université (CRIMIC)

Contact: colloque.fetedanslesameriques@gmail.com

Festivals in the Americas: histories, practices, politics

"A total social fact", the heterogeneous nature of the festival lends itself to anthropological, historical or sociological analyses, of a political, religious, economic and/or cultural nature. The festival, always echoing the historical moment in which it is held, is transformed by social processes, associated in particular with globalization and migratory phenomena, which set in motion populations, products, ideas and influences.

The American continent, rich in festive history, whether local, national or multinational, carnivalesque, religious or civic, multiplies celebrations that go through these transformations of meaning, motivations, forms and influence. This colloquium will explore these transformations on different scales, the evolution of these celebrations and the social and political stakes involved.

At the same time, it will look at what, through celebration, in the past and in the present, unites a group - be it local, regional, national or multinational (migrants come to mind, for example) - and what exalts its differences in relation to other collectives. How does politics affect festivity, and how does festivity in turn affect politics? How do economic and religious issues, local and global, play out at the festival? What kinds of conflicts and struggles does the festival raise? Are there continental constants, permeabilities or even American specificities?

This three-day international colloquium will feature a plenary lecture and eight thematic sessions:

Wednesday, October 12

• Plenary Lecture: Elijah Gaddis (Auburn University): Everyday Festivity, Racial Violence and The Making of the 20th-Century U.S. City

Thursday, October 13

• First session: Political Uses and Control of Festivities
• Second session: Cultural, Commemorative and Heritage Politics
• Third session: Festivity in Repertoires of Collective Action
• Fourth session: Festivals and "racialization"

Friday, October 14

• Fifth session: Festivals and identity issues
• Sixth session: Circulations of festive practices and representations
• Seventh session: Festivals and devotions
• Eighth session: Festivals, economy and power