The French Studies Program at Brigham Young University will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s novel “L’Aventure Ambiguë” during an Africa Colloquium Thursday and Friday, March 17-18. All events are free, and the public is welcome.
Thursday’s events will include a lecture by Kane and Chantal Thompson, professor of French studies at BYU, at 11 a.m. in the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium. The lecture will be titled “The Clash of Culture and Faith in Colonial Africa: An Ambiguous Adventure.” Later that evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, there will be a tribute ceremony in honor of Kane, including an evening of African music and dance by Voice of Africa.
Friday’s lectures will begin at 10 a.m. in B192 Joseph F. Smith Building. Lecturers will include: Mamadou Sy Tounkara, secretary general of the committee for the 50th anniversary event; Lydie E. Moudileno, professor of romance languages and graduate chair of French at the University of Pennsylvania; Souleymane Bachir Daigne, professor of French and director of graduate studies at Columbia University; and Abdourahman Wabéri, prize-winning author and visiting professor at Claremont College.
Kane will then give the closing remarks at 3 p.m. He is considered one of the best-known African writers in the world. He was a minister in the government of Senegal and a dignitary in international affairs. He represented UNICEF in Africa, in Lagos and Abidjan.
“L’Aventure Ambiguë” is one of the great classics of African culture, addressing the choice between modern life and tradition. It received the African Prize for Expression in the French language.
This event has been organized by Chantal Thompson with support from Campus France, BYU's College of Humanities, Undergraduate Education and Honors, the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, the Center for the Study of Europe and the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies.
For more information, contact Chantal Thompson at (801) 422-2782 or e-mail chantal_thompson@byu.edu.
Writer: Mel Gardner
