« Ne nous engageons point dans les querelles » : Un projet de guerre perpétuelle ?

This article considers the extent to which a quarrel might be a strategic activity for a writer or philosopher making a bid for posterity. Inveterate quarrellers like Voltaire or Rousseau come to mind, but the case to be examined here is the far less straightforward case of Diderot and in particular the stance of ‘accidental quarreller’ that he fabricates in his Essai sur les règnes de Claude et de Néron et sur les moeurs et les écrits de Sénèque pour servir à l’introduction de la lecture de ce philosophe (1782), the last work he published in his lifetime. The article argues that the Essai constitutes what might be called a « quarrel-text », that is to say a text that stages the quarrel of which it is itself the object and, in so doing, reignites it; it analyses the stance adopted by the philosopher-quarreller as it is revealed in the paradoxical utterance « ne nous engageons point dans les querelles », the performative qualities of which are explored in detail.     

La république universellè des francs-maçons entre «culture de la mobilité» et basculement national (XVIIIe–XIXe siècle)

In 1723, the Charter of the Grand Lodge of England defines the project of the Masonic order: to become «the center of the union and the means of tying a faithful friendship among men who without that would have remained at a perpetual distance». From this aspiration to rebuild Babel, proceed the attempts to chart the Masonic Republic, to set up a network of truly universal correspondence and language — this last building site leading to Esperanto. The order developed throughout the XVIII^th century this universal utopia on the mode of a true citizenship of the Masonic Republic with its passport, its rights and its duties. Then it had to answer the formidable upheavals resulting from 1789 and the awakening of nationalities, while being directed towards a more committed design of the universal Republic of the freemasons, sensitive to the liberal ideals and the emancipation of the nations, with the risk of giving arguments to its detractors, convinced of the masonic involvement in a world-wide conspiracy.     

«Ridges on the floors of Hell»: traces ou palimpsestes dans le désert de The Dead Heart

The Dead Heart is American author Douglas Kennedy's first novel. It was first translated into French in 1997 as Cul-de-sac. It was this translation that made Kennedy a household name in France and that gave The Dead Heart its identity as a roman noir. In the space of just 20 years the novel has been translated twice into French and adapted twice more, as a film and now as a graphic novel. Elsewhere, we have analyzed this trajectory from the perspective of retranslation and the ostensible differences between the two translation Skopoi, and the use of paratextual branding to target specific reading publics. Focusing on the graphic novel allows us here to go beyond the problematics of translation and to broaden the scope of our study of textual adaptation. It also allows us to reassess the originality of the source text.     

Former le citoyen de la république naissante retour sur une controverse aux origines de l’école républicaine

This paper looks at the original conflicting approach of the republican school, understood as a traning ground for citizenship. The separation between those who wish to develop a truly democratic school, and those who do not see in this objective a political priority for the emerging republic, embodies the most profound debate of this moment of political foundation of the Republican school. Behind the two visions of the Republican school (education vs instruction), two visions of Republican society are opposed. Further, in the controversy surrounding the nature of the school an opposition, later amplified, emerges between social Republicans and liberal Republicans     

Les «Faits scientifiques» et leur public: l’histoire de la détection de la syphilis

In the 1910's and 1920', thanks to the conjunction of scientific views concerning the specificity of anti-bacterial antibodies, of lay ideas about the existence of anti-bacterial antibodies and of the perceived importance of developing a syphilis test for public health officials, the community of serologists collectively transformed a relatively inefficient diagnostic test described by Wassermann in 1906 into an "incontestable scientific fact". This "scientific fact" established the equivalence: Wassermann positive individual=person infected with the germ Treponema pallidum, the etiological agent of syphilis. It modified the boundaries of the nosologic entity "syphilis", medical practices, professional attitudes, lay perceptions of syphilis, and health policies. In the 1950's, however, discrepancies between Wassermann test data and epidemiological data and, on the other hand, the development of specific anti-treponemal tests, destabilized the previously stabilized "scientific fact". A high percentage of Wassermann positive individuals were redefined as "biological false positifs", that is persons who suffered from chronic affections able to induce positive results of the Wassermann test. The equivalence Wassermann positive person=individual infected by Treponema pallidum was replaced by the equation: Wassermann positive person=individual infected by Treponema pallidum or biological false positive. The new perception of the Wassermann test again changed scientific views, professional practices and lay beliefs. The history of the Wassermann reaction illustrates the complicated interaction between "scientific facts" and "social facts", and the mutual shaping of both.     

Le Concept de « Démocratie Raciale » dans L’Histoire Intellectuelle Brésilienne

This article aims to reconstruct the history of the term “racial democracy” in Brazilian sociological literature. This term, usually associated with the idea of “myth”, is used in many studies of race relations without little definition or clarity. This article retraces its origins, in particular by showing that the concept is not the invention of Gilberto Freyre. It then examines the evolution of its use with particular emphasis on Unesco’s research in the 1950s and the texts of Florestan Fernandes in the 1960s.     

La critique de l'idolâtrie des jeux scéniques dans le de civitate dei. destinataires et enjeux

Contrairement à son aîné Tertullien, saint Augustin ne consacre pas de longs développements à démontrer l'origine religieuse des jeux antiques. De nombreux passages du De civitate Dei font cependant exception ; l'auteur tente ici d'en rendre compte. Saint Augustin y vise le paganisme que la chute de Rome et la venue en Afrique du cercle sénatorial de Volusien ont rendu plus vivace. L'évêque d'Hippone mêle dans ses attaques une érudition purement livresque et des souvenirs personnels, grâce auxquels il démontre, contre toute évidence, le caractère religieux des jeux offerts par les notables des cités africaines. Le débat n ‘est pourtant pas déjà anachronique car, pour n'être pas religieux, les jeux n'en sont pas moins liés au paganisme du patriotisme urbain qui constitue la véritable cible de saint Augustin. A la cité terrestre comme absolu, il oppose l'idée de la vie comme peregrinatio, sans attaches, en marche dans l'espoir de la cité céleste.     

La scission et le développement dans la tradition de l’écriture féminine de Chen Ran

Le roman de Chen Ran陈染Siren shenghuo 私人生活(La vie privée) constitue la vie d’une jeune femme, Ni Niuniu, qui vivait dans une métropole chinoise dans une époque de grands changements. Chen Ran a dévoilé la propre expérience de sa vie intime pour concrétiser son image de soi et d’autrui,son style de narration de la vie avec sa volonté et sa logique, pourétablir les paroles féminines.Chen Ran est une écrivaine singulière et importante dans la littérature contemporaine, elle nous a fourni une ressource spirituelle riche pour le développement de la littérature féminine du XXesiècle par ses nombreuses écritures d’exploration des expériences psychologiques spécifiques, féminines, qui représentent le modernisme.Pendant ces dernières années, son oeuvre s’ est orientée de plus en plus vers le psychologique et le philosophique en explorant la solitude, l’amour sexuel et la vie humaine. Chen Ran exprime la solitude et la tristesse des personnages par son écriture parfaite qui rend toute la beauté de la tristesse profonde. La tristesse qu’elle a exprimée n’est pas de simples expériences ou émotions personnelles, mais de la recherche et de l’interrogation profonde vers l’identité du《je》 et de l’《autre》     

Les représentations de l'Allemagne dans la presse sportive française: l'exemple des rencontres de football France-Allemagne dans les années trente

ARP (la Société Civile des Auteurs, Réalisateurs et Producteurs) is one of the most significant cinema lobby groups in France today. Among its most important manifestations are the annual Rencontres de Beaune, a series of debates that attract some of the most influential figures in both the cultural and political domains internationally. This article aims to document the political successes and impact of ARP through a presentation and analysis of the 2000–2004 Rencontres Cinématographiques de Beaune.     

« Techno-Esthétique » de L’Économie Smithienne Valeur et Fonctionnalité des Objets dans L’Angleterre des Lumières

From The Theory of Moral Sentiments to his essay on The Nature of that Imitation Which Takes Place in What Are Called the Imitative Arts, Adam Smith offered a vision of aesthetics combining beauty and utility. An echo of exchange value as the “ability to buy other goods” — the “power” to organize and achieve one’s goals — his definition of beauty was premised on the “aptness” of things, that is, the fact that they were also useful. Sustained by the commodification of products, a kind of “techno-aesthetics” thus emerged in England in the 18^th century, one that implied designing, adapting, reducing and showcasing the means of production.     

Les noms de l'expiation dans le vidēvdāt

Summary L'analyse philologique du Vidvdt laisse apparaître une conception particulière de l'expiation. Celle-ci est envisagée comme une sorte de transaction: il s'agit de remettre en ordre la situation désorganisée par la transgression. Le responsable fournit une réparation (ci-), qui va à l'encontre de (paititay-) la faute. Ce paitita- rétablit l'ordre (par-), de manière à neutraliser (uzuuarz-) le mal accompli: le fidèle restera ainsi en ordre vis-à-vis de sa religion. En outre, cette démarche remet le pêcheur, que sa mauvaise action a souillé, en état de participer au culte (yaozd-).