Chaire Roger Odin Lectures

Sarah Cooper will be delivering a seminar series at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

Translated introduction: Three chapters of a floral history of cinema

Flowers are everywhere in the history of cinema. This lecture series, however, will look beyond the surface of the flowers on screen. We will consider flowers in narrative, experimental and advertising films, from the beginning of cinema to the present day, to address questions of the relationship between nature and culture, as well as the relationship to the non-human. Along the way, we’ll discuss the beauty of flowers, their association with women in Western aesthetics, and issues of gender, sexuality, and race. We will assess the floral legacy of colonialism but also how some filmmakers use flowers to build better relationships among people and between humans and the environment, linking technology and ecology. Flowery but not always cheerful, this story turns out to be as complex as it is fascinating.

Seminars on March 1st, 8th, and 15th.

Find the programme here