Ziyan Yang, Irène Chassaing and Alexandra Tsedryk are bringing together students from Canada, France and North Africa to talk about words, and the spaces between them, in French. The three graduate students in Dalhousie's French program have organized an international conference entitled Silence and Word (or, le silence et le verbe). This weekend welcomes presentations from graduate students studying literature and linguistics, as well as notable guest speaker, award-winning francophone author Ook Chung. "Within the context of globalization and multiculturalism, how we deal with difference, how we should listen to different voices and silenced voices becomes our focus. We are convinced that Ook Chung will provide us with a refreshing point of view on this subject," says Yang. Born in Japan to Korean parents, Chung now lives in Quebec and will present "Le pain de la parole" and read from his latest novel. "His literary works often give voice to marginalized and silenced individuals. As he says, we need a sort of 'fair speech' just like we need the fair trade," says Yang. The conference runs April 29 to 30.
Dalhousie Art Gallery, 6101 University Avenue, Sat Apr 30, 11am-noon
