Conversations with Alexis Jenni & Boris Tavernier (April 11 & 12, 2022)
Please join us for one or more of the following conversations, all of which will take place in person at Boston University.
Monday, April 11 / 4 PM
Food, Memory & Identity: Exploring Cultural Foodways
with Rachel Black, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Chair of the Anthropology Department, Connecticut College
Reception to follow
Pardee School of Global Studies 121 Bay State Road
Tuesday, April 12 / 12 PM
Food, Power & Privilege: Democratizing Foodways
Lunch to follow
Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, 610 Commonwealth Avenue
Tuesday, April 12 / 2 PM
The French Art of War & Beyond:
A Conversation (in French) with Alexis Jenni
Pardee School of Global Studies, 121 Bay State Road
Alexis Jenni‘s debut novel, The French Art of War, is a reflection on how France, and the modern world, have been shaped by war and colonialism. It was awarded the 2011 Prix Goncourt. He is also the author of Femmes d’ici, cuisines d’ailleurs (Women from Here, Kitchens from Elsewhere), an illustrated cookbook featuring recipes by fifteen immigrant women from the working-class districts of the Metropolis of Lyon, and other projects.
Boris Tavernier is the co-founder and national director of VRAC, an association which aims to provide access to quality products at low prices for the inhabitants of working-class neighborhoods. Created in 2013, the VRAC association promotes access to quality products at very competitive prices. Tavernier has built purchasing groups in Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Paris.
In addition to Women from Here, Kitchens from Elsewhere, Alexis Jenni and Boris Tavernier have collaborated on Ensemble pour mieux se nourrir (Together for Better Nourishment), a tour of food activism in France. The book highlights the growing food solidarity movement and other initiatives for overcoming food insecurity in France. Additionally, the VRAC association has published a new book on childhood recipes, Restes d’enfance … souvenirs et recettes zéro gaspi des auteurs (Childhood Leftovers … Memories and Zero-waste Recipes from Authors), to which Alexis Jenni has contributed his story of stuffed potatoes. Restes d’enfance also features a contribution by our own Odile Cazenave, Professor of French.
