SE17 2025

Program

(Node: 5230 / Year: 2025 )

Travel

Smith College is located in Northampton, Western Massachusetts, about 100 miles west of Boston, 90 miles east of Albany, NY, and 160 miles north of New York City. See general directions to Northampton/Smith College here. To help you make travel plans and compare various transportation options, you can use a trip planner tool such as Rome2Rio.

 

The closest airport is Bradley International (BDL) near Hartford, Connecticut. It is served by most major airlines and is located about 35 miles south of Northampton. Flying into Bradley rather than to Boston’s Logan Airport gives you a shorter drive to Northampton and spares you city traffic congestion. From Bradley airport, you can take a cab, rent a car at the airport, or reserve transportation. For additional information, see here.

 

If you arrive at Logan Airport (Boston), you can rent a car at the airport, take a Peter Pan bus, or reserve transportation (see below).

 

From New York, you can take an Amtrak train - the Metro North from Grand Central Station (MTA schedules here) to New Haven then the Amtrak train - or the bus (Greyhound schedules here).

 

Transportation to Smith from Boston or Hartford airports is available from a number of services. Advance reservations are required.

• Valley Transporter
• Affordable Airport Car Service
• Exclusive Car Service
• GoGreen Cab Co
• Cosmic Cab Company
• Lindsey Limousine
• Seemo Shuttle
• Arrivability Car Service

 

Lodging

The Pioneer Valley, in which Northampton is located, is home to five universities and is a much-visited region during the beautiful fall season. This means that accommodation options are limited due to all the activities taking place, and more importantly, they are expensive. SE17 has obtained a group discount at the Hotel Northampton. Please note that rooms must be reserved no later than Sunday, October 5, after which unreserved rooms will be returned to general inventory.

Hotel Northampton located at 36 King Street, right in the heart of Northampton (0.6 mile from Smith). $159.99 per night ( Nov. 5-6), then $279.99 per night (Nov. 7-8) + taxes. Breakfast not included. Fitness center available. Free parking. To book a room with the discount, please call at (800) 547-3529 specifying the SE17 Conference Group/Smith College you are with. 

 

 

 

(Node: 5137 / Year: 2025 )

Conference Funding

Conference Funding

SE17 Conference Funding Request Form | Formulaire de demande de bourse de voyage

 

SE17 is committed to supporting our members who do not receive sufficient funding from their home institutions or other sources to cover the costs of attending our annual conference, and who would be unable to attend without additional funding. Funding for these grants comes from member donations and annual dues. They are intended for colleagues whose participation without this support would represent a financial hardship.

 

Eligibility

We welcome applications from all members whose financial resources are insufficient to cover the expenses of SE17 conference attendance. Graduate students are especially encouraged to apply, but part-time faculty, full-time faculty, retired faculty and independent scholars may all apply for funding to reimburse a portion of their travel expenses based on demonstrated need. These expenses may include registration fees, transportation, and hotel. Neither the annual membership dues nor meals beyond those paid for as part of conference registration will be reimbursed, though all expenses must be listed. The maximum grant amount is $500. While all conference participants are welcome to apply, priority will be given to graduate students and early career scholars, to individuals who present at the conference and who do not receive funding from their home institution or other entities for conference attendance, and to those who did not receive funding from SE17 for the previous year’s conference. Please note that funding is not guaranteed and is contingent on the availability of funds, the number of applications received, and the Executive Committee’s decision.

 

Process

Applicants must secure their own travel and hotel arrangements and conference registration. They must submit the completed Conference Funding Request Form electronically. There are two application deadlines, one for pre-conference funding and one for post-conference funding. Those wishing to receive the grant before the conference must apply by the date of August 15 preceding the conference. Conference participants may also apply for funding following the conference, up until November 30, with the understanding that funding opportunities may be more limited post-conference.

 

Please note that the Conference Funding Request Form requires the applicant to upload a brief statement (PDF format) from a department chair or dean, written on letterhead, that indicates the sum of annual institutional funds available to the applicant (a PDF of an email from the administrator, as long as it contains the person’s university email address, is also acceptable). We also require documentation of any other sources of support (research funds, government funding, other professional society grants, foundations, etc.)

 

If applicants are requesting funding beyond the conference registration fee, they must provide copies of receipts for transportation and hotel expenses in a single PDF which they upload via the Conference Funding Request form. If applicants travel by car, they must indicate the departure city and total mileage to be reimbursed. It is not necessary to submit a receipt for the conference registration fee. All amounts should be listed in US dollars. To convert currency for the date of purchase, please use this currency converter.

 

The Executive Committee will review all applications shortly after the August 15 (pre-conference) and November 30 (post-conference) deadlines and will notify candidates by e-mail of their decision within 30 days of each deadline, granted that all required documentation has been submitted via the Conference Funding Form.

 

Successful applicants will receive a PayPal payment in American dollars shortly following notification.

 

Questions may be addressed to SE17 Treasurer Deborah Steinberger (steind@udel.edu).

(Node: 5223 / Year: 2025 )

Registration

(Node: 5222 / Year: 2025 )

Contacts

CO-PRESIDENT / CO-PRÉSIDENTE

Hélène Visentin, Professor of French Studies, Smith College

Email: hvisenti@smith.edu

 

SE17 CONFERENCE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE / COMITÉ SCIENTIFIQUE DU COLLOQUE DE LA SE17 

Mary Beth Allen (University of Connecticut)

Therese Banks (Middlebury College)

Faith Beasley (Dartmouth College)

Jean-Vincent Blanchard (Swarthmore College)

Benoît Bolduc (New York University),

Theresa Brock (Smith College),

Katherine Dauge-Roth (Bowdoin college)

Ann Delehanty (Reed College)

Sara Harvey (University of Victoria)

Tiphaine Karsenti (Université Paris Nanterre)

Jean Leclerc (Western University)

Camille Leclère-Gregory (Bryn Mawr College) 

Michael Meere (Wesleyan University)

Sanam Nader-Esfahani (Amherst College)

Dinah Ribard (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales)

Anna Rosensweig (University of Rochester)

Lewis C. Seifert (Brown University)

Deborah Steinberger (University of Delaware)

Hélène Visentin (Smith College)

 

(Node: 5226 / Year: 2025 )

Sponsors

Smith College 

• The Department of French Studies
• The Department of History
• The Program for the Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality
• The Department of Theatre 
• The Program in World Literatures
• Smith College Special Collections
• Smith College Museum of Art
• The Ruth Baker Bradley Fund
• The Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty 

Five Colleges

• The Department of French at Amherst College
• The Department of French at Mount Holyoke College
• The Program of Italian and French Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
• The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
• The Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
• The Five College Lecture Fund

Villa Albertine - Services Culturels de l’Ambassade de France 

 

 

  

(Node: 5224 / Year: 2025 )

Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS / APPEL À COMMUNICATIONS

 

44^th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF

THE SOCIETY FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY FRENCH SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

 

44^ème CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL ANNUEL DE LA

SOCIÉTÉ D’ÉTUDES PLURIDISCIPLINAIRES DU DIX-SEPTIÈME SIÈCLE FRANÇAIS

 

November 6-8, 2025 / 6-8 Novembre 2025

 

SMITH COLLEGE

Northhampton, Massachusetts

 

PRESIDENT / PRÉSIDENTE

Hélène Visentin, Professor of French Studies

 

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 20 /  DATE LIMITE PROLONGÉE AU 20 AVRIL

The Society for Interdisciplinary French Seventeenth-Century Studies (SE17) is a dynamic international community of scholars committed to the research and teaching of all aspects of seventeenth-century French culture and history and, more broadly, early modern France, from an interdisciplinary perspective. A welcoming and collegial society, SE17 promotes the sharing of current research, resources, and teaching approaches among scholars of all disciplines and levels, and fosters the development of graduate students pursuing early modern French studies. 
 

PLENARY SESSIONS - Submission Deadline April 20

 

90-minute sessions in traditional 3-4 speaker or roundtable format with 15 to 20 minutes of speaking time for each panelist. To submit a 250-300 word abstract in English or French for one of the sessions below, please fill in this form by April 20.

The selection committee will communicate decisions on plenary submissions by May 10. For any questions, please email SE17conference2025@gmail.com.

Education of Women: Smith College being a women’s college and in line with the institution’s mission and values, this plenary session is dedicated to women’s education in the early modern period with the premise that the past allows us to better understand the present.

Power, Justice, and Tyranny

Circulation of Knowledge

Contemporary Appropriations of the 17^th Century

Soundscapes

Representations of the Natural World

Oralities and Oral Traditions (IDEA): SE17 is committed to examining understudied areas of our field, such as race and racism, the history of enslavement and colonialism, and the histories and cultures of Native Americans and First Nations in Canada. This year’s designated Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) session, as voted by SE17 members, is “Oralities and Oral Traditions.” Submissions should address this topic with these priorities in mind.

Teaching History Through Theatre: This year’s pedagogy session will be organized as a round table to privilege discussion and exchange, with 8-10 minutes of speaking time per participant.

 

NON-PLENARY SESSIONS - Submission Deadline June 1

SE17 seeks to create a dynamic space of intellectual exchange while enabling a greater number of scholars to participate in the conference. This year, we will again offer work-in-progress workshops and reading groups. To submit proposals for work-in-progress sessions or reading groups, please fill in this form by June 1.  

Proposals for these sessions will be reviewed following the plenary session selection process. All are welcome and encouraged to submit proposals, individually or as a group, but preference will be given to those who are not presenting in plenary sessions. The selection committee will communicate decisions on non-plenary submissions by July 1. For any questions, please email SE17conference2025@gmail.com.

Reading Groups: Small reading group sessions open to all conference participants. Readings will be chosen by the organizer(s). Participants will commit to prepare selected readings posted in advance of the conference and attend a moderated group discussion during the conference.

Work-in-Progress Workshops: Closed, small group sessions focus on reading short samples of each other’s work-in-progress in advance of the conference and discussing them during the conference. Work might consist of book proposals, articles, book chapters (length limited to 15-20 pages). Proposals may come from individuals or groups, and will be organized into groups by session chairs based on areas of interest, methodology, or other commonalities between the projects. Alternatively, a preexisting group of up to four people may submit a collective proposal. In this latter case, proposals should be submitted by a designated group leader who will include a list of other members. Work-in-Progress Workshop participants will need to submit drafts of their materials to the session co-chairs by October 1.

 

***

 

La Société d’études pluridisciplinaires du dix-septième siècle français (SE17) est une communauté internationale dynamique de chercheurs engagés dans la recherche et l’enseignement de tous les aspects de la culture et de l’histoire françaises du XVIIe siècle et, plus largement, de la France de l’Ancien Régime, dans une perspective interdisciplinaire. Société accueillante et collégiale, la SE17 facilite l’échange des ressources, recherches et approches pédagogiques entre les chercheurs de toutes les disciplines et de tous les niveaux, et favorise le développement des étudiants de deuxième et troisième cycles qui poursuivent des études sur la France de l’Ancien Régime. 
 

SÉANCES PLÉNIÈRES - Date limite de soumission le 20 avril

Séances de 90 minutes selon un format traditionnel de 3-4 participant·e·s ou table ronde avec un temps de parole de 15 à 20 minutes par intervenant·e·s. Pour soumettre un résumé de 250 à 300 mots en anglais ou en français pour l’une des sessions ci-dessous, veuillez  remplir ce formulaire au plus tard le 20 avril.

Le comité de sélection communiquera ses décisions au sujet des propositions de séances plénières au plus tard le 10 mai. Pour toute question, veuillez envoyer un courriel à SE17conference2025@gmail.com.

Éducation des femmes : Smith College étant un établissement d’enseignement supérieur pour les femmes et, conformément à la mission et aux valeurs de l’institution, cette session est consacrée à l'éducation des femmes sous l’Ancien Régime, partant du principe que le passé nous permet de mieux comprendre le présent.

Pouvoir, justice et tyrannie

Circulation des savoirs

Appropriations culturelles du XVIIe siècle

Paysages sonores

Représentations du monde naturel

Oralités and traditions orales (IDEA) : La SE17 s’engage à examiner les aspects peu étudiés de notre domaine, telles que les questions de la race et du racisme, l’histoire de l’esclavage et du colonialisme, et l’histoire et les cultures des Amérindiens et des Premières Nations au Canada. La session IDEA (Inclusion, Diversité, Équité et Accessibilité) de cette année, telle que votée par les membres de la SE17, est intitulée “Oralités et traditions orales”. Les propositions de communication doivent aborder un sujet qui tiennent compte de ces axes prioritaires.

Enseigner l’histoire à travers le théâtre : La session pédagogique sera organisée sous forme de table ronde afin de privilégier la discussion et l’échange avec un temps de parole de 8 à 10 minutes par participant·e.

 

 

SÉANCES NON PLÉNIÈRES - Date limite de soumission le 1^er juin

La SE17 vise à créer un espace dynamique d’échange intellectuel tout en permettant à un plus grand nombre de chercheur·se·s de participer à la conférence. Cette année, nous proposerons à nouveau des ateliers de travaux en cours et des groupes de lecture. Pour soumettre une proposition pour un atelier de travaux en cours ou pour un groupe de lecture, veuillez remplir ce formulaire au plus tard le 1^er juin.

Les propositions pour ces sessions non plénières seront examinées selon le processus de sélection des sessions plénières. Tous·tes sont encouragé·e·s à soumettre une proposition individuelle ou de groupe, mais la préférence sera donnée aux personnes ne participant pas à l’une des séances plénières. Le comité de sélection communiquera ses décisions au sujet des propositions de séances non plénières au plus tard le 1er juillet. Pour toute question, veuillez envoyer un courriel à SE17conference2025@gmail.com.

Groupes de lecture : Séances de petits groupes ouvertes à tous les participant·e·s de la conférence. Les lectures seront choisies par les organisateur·rice·s. Les participant·e·s s’engagent à préparer les lectures choisies à l’avance et à assister à un groupe de discussion pendant la conférence.

Ateliers de travaux en cours : Séances fermées qui rassemblent un petit groupe de personnes qui s’engagent à lire de courts extraits de travaux en cours de chacun des participant·e·s avant la conférence et qui se retrouvent pour en discuter  pendant la conférence. Il peut s’agir de propositions de livres, d’articles, de chapitres de livres (longueur limitée à 15-20 pages). Les propositions peuvent émaner d’individus ou d’un ensemble de personnes et seront regroupées par les président·e·s de séance en fonction des domaines d’intérêt, de la méthodologie ou d’autres points communs entre les projets. Un groupe préexistant de quatre personnes maximum peut également soumettre une proposition collective. Dans ce cas, les propositions doivent être soumises par un chef de groupe désigné qui inclura une liste des autres membres. Les participant·e·s à des ateliers de travaux en cours devront soumettre une version préliminaire de leurs documents aux co-président·e·s au plus tard le 1^er octobre.

 

(Node: 5135 / Year: 2025 ) File attachments: SE17 Call For Papers 2025 (Extended Deadline).pdf