Celebrating Literature to Shape Citizenship: France's 2007 'Lire en fete'
Abstract
Each year since 1989, France has celebrated Lire en fete, a literary festival initiated by then Minister of Culture Jack Lang. Like other national festivals created during the 1980s, such as La Fete de la musique and La Fete du cinema, Lire en fete provides entertainment, but also directly relates to government democratisation efforts. This article analyses the 2007 version of Lire en fete, focusing on primary documents such as the Dossier de presse and the official website, and suggests that the French government uses this festival to increase public engagement in French society and to encourage responsible citizenship, in part by fostering the development of a literate public sphere.
Recommended Citation
Merfeld-Langston, A. L. (2010). Celebrating Literature to Shape Citizenship: France's 2007 'Lire en fete'. Modern and Contemporary France, 18(3), pp. 343-356. Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France (ASMCF).
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/09639489.2010.493933
Department(s)
Arts, Languages, and Philosophy
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0963-9489
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Language 2
French
Rights
© 2010 Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France (ASMCF), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jul 2010
