Presented by Alliance Française de Jackson
in partnership with the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA

Join Marva Barnett, Professor Emerita, University of Virginia and author of To Love Is to Act: Les Misérables and Victor Hugo’s Vision for Leading Lives of Conscience, to discuss how Victor Hugo put into action the last words he wrote—“To love is to act” / “Aimer c’est agir”—and what he can tell us today about leading lives of conscience. Professor Barnett will explore what Hugo wrote about how seeing others builds empathy, how justice eclipses the law, and how love prompts forgiveness and resilience. She will read a bit from To Love Is to Act and give brief examples of how Hugo’s words and actions echo in the deeds of modern activists.

An award-winning educator and lifelong teacher of French language, literature, and culture, Marva Barnett holds a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University. In 2012, the French government named her Chevalier des palmes académiques for her work on Victor Hugo. Known as a Hugo expert and engaging speaker, Professor Barnett has been invited to talk about Hugo’s work and ideas at Michael Kahn’s Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, the Association France-Amériques in Paris, the American Club of Paris, the Université de Paris III-Censier / La Sorbonne Nouvelle, the Virginia Festival of the Book, Kenyon College, Charlottesville Opera, The French Heritage Society, The Virginia Club of New York, and the Alliances Françaises in Milwaukee, WI, and Charlottesville, VA. For more information, visit her website at http://www.marvabarnett.com/.

This event will be on Zoom and is free for all Alliance Française members; please use the form below to register. If you are not a member, you can sign up on the registration form.