Séminaire :

Séminaire du Labex TransferS : Cycle de conférences sur la littérature russe. Andrew Kahn, "Ré-écrire les Lumières en Russie : centre et périphérie".

07/05/2018, ENS, 45 rue d'Ulm 75005 Paris. Salle Celan. 14h-16h

Catherine the Great remains a legendary and much studied figure for the diplomatic/military, legislative, and cultural achievements that marked her reign. Debate still surrounds the question of whether she was genuinely an Enlightener and enlightened ruler. Among her less recognized accomplishments is her distinction as a brilliant letter writer with a large circle of correspondents, including Voltaire, d’Alembert, Mme Geoffrin, and Frederick the Great. This lecture will provide an overview of Catherine the Great’s epistolarity and offer some thoughts about their literary/rhetorical quality, their handling of the private and the public, and their role in the creation of an image.