the 70th anniversary of the ecole libre des hautes etudes and its legacy: memories and politics of exileThe New School's Paris Campus and The New School for Social Research Presents a Symposium in Partnership with The Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales |
Paris, September 30, 2016 – The New School today announced that Memories and Politics of Exile, a two-day symposium to commemorate the Ecole de Libre des Hautes Etudes (ELHE) will be hosted by Parsons Paris, The Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and The New School for Social Research on October 6 and 7, 2016. The New School welcomed French scholars in exile from 1942-1946, known as the Ecole de Libre des Hautes Etudes, and this symposium commemorates the 70th anniversary of that event. The conference will revisit definitions of exile and migrations during the Second World War between France and America, and explore how this history informs our current understanding of the refugee crisis. The two day event includes a conference with international scholars who are specialists in this history and scholarly migration at the George C. Marshall Center at the Hôtel Talleyrand on October 6. A half day conference on October 7 explores artistic migrations in conjunction with the Arnold Schoenberg exhibition at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, and two interactive workshops designed for our students at Parsons Paris led by the Rockefeller Archive Center and the EHESS respectively.“Parsons Paris initiated this conference to recall the history of the ELHE, which is deeply important for the development of intellectual history and social science at The New School and in France,” said Susan Taylor-Leduc, dean of Parsons Paris. “As a design school, we hope this symposium will give our students an opportunity to reflect on the past while addressing the implications for today’s refugee crisis. At Parsons Paris, the massive migrations of the 21st century can be framed as this century’s major design challenge, and we hope the conference will inspire our students to become actively engaged in designing solutions to this crisis.” These political questions are being explored at Parsons Paris in the Civic Design Lab, which encourages students to engage with the vital issues of our time, such as democracy, urbanization, sustainability, migration, and globalization. “I am thrilled that The New School for Social Research is teaming up with Parsons Paris and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociale to celebrate the Ecole Libre that was an integral part of The New School from 1942-46,” said Will Milberg, dean of New School for Social Research. “The Ecole Libre represents part of the grand New School tradition of cosmopolitanism, academic freedom and openness to exiled scholars. We are proud of this tradition, in particular at a time when the world is experiencing a new wave of refugees and forced migrants. The celebration in Paris allows us to both recall the tradition and to grapple with how to update it in the 21st century.” In comparison to the German academics at the New School’s University in Exile that was founded in 1933, most of whom remained in New York after the War, French intellectuals who participated in the École Libre des Hautes Études, (including Claude Levi-Strauss and Jacques Maritain) returned to Paris. Upon their homecoming, they integrated some of the interdisciplinary energy from the ELHE and The New School, which was then channeled into the newly created sixth section of the École Pratiques des Hautes Études in Paris (EPHE, later called the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales or EHESS), thereby prolonging the effects of the New York years. The historical context will be broadened to explore how the common French and American tradition of welcoming foreigners has been recently contradicted by the political and public responses to the contemporary “migrant crisis” taking place along the US-Mexico border and the Mediterranean and Balkan routes into the European Union. Scholars from a range of disciplines, including sociology, urban theory, art and literary history, diplomatic and political history, will be encouraged to debate contemporary notions of refugee status.On October 7th, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) joins the contemporary exhibition dedicated to the exiled musician Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951). This half-day will seek to contextualize artistic migration within the debates surrounding political exile. The Parsons Paris Gallery at 45 rue Saint Roch will host an exhibition entitled “Changing Wind and Liquid Traces” opening October 6. The exhibition will present two recent works dedicated to how we define the spaces of today’s migrant crisis: the Mediterranean: Le Vent tourne, 2015, an installation by French artist Julien Fargetton, and Liquid Traces, 2014, a video directed by Swiss researcher Charles Heller and Italian architect Lorenzo Pezzani, both members of Forensic Architecture research agency, Goldsmith, University of London. T. Alexander Aleinikoff, University Professor and Director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, who served from 2010-2015 as the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will also be in Paris to participate in this conference.
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Founded in 1919, The New School was born out of principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Committed to social engagement, The New School today remains in the vanguard of innovation in higher education, with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students challenging the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The New School welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and calendar of lectures, screenings, readings, and concerts. Through its online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence. Learn more at newschool.edu. Nearly 95 years ago, Parsons chose Paris, one of the world’s creative centers, as an ideal site in which to offer students an innovative academic path. Today, Parsons’ unique connections throughout Paris and with the rest of Europe and New York City give students a one-of-a-kind education in an intimate, atelier-like setting that fosters close collaboration and interdisciplinary learning. Parsons Paris offers the following undergraduate and graduate degrees at its campus in the heart of the city: Art, Media, and Technology (BFA), Design and Technology (MFA), Fashion Design (BFA), Fashion Studies (MA), History of Design and Curatorial Studies (MA), Strategic Design and Management (BBA). http://www.newschool.edu/parsons-paris.
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