Host Laboratory
Institut de recherche sur la Renaissance, l’âge Classique et les Lumières (IRCL) [Institute for Research on the Renaissance, the Neo-classical Age and the Enlightenment], Joint Research Unit 5186 of the CNRS (formerly Centre for 18th-century Studies (CEDIM), Joint Research Unit 5050 of the CNRS) – Montpellier III Paul-Valéry University
Secondary Co-operation
Patrimoine, Littérature, Histoire (PLH) [Heritage, Literature, History], Équipe de Recherche sur la Réception de l’Antiquité : Sources, Mémoires, Enjeux (ERASME) [Research team on the Reception of Antiquity: Sources, Memories and Challenges], EA 4601 – Toulouse 2-Jean-Jaurès University
Membership in Learned Societies
International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS)
Société Française d’Étude du Dix-Huitième siècle (SFEDS) [French Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies]
Société Voltaire [Voltaire Society]
Centre International d’Étude du XVIIIe Siècle (CIEDS) [International Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies]
Association des Amis de la Bibliothèque municipale de Dijon [Friends of the Dijon Municipal Library], until 2015
Research Areas
History of Ideas
Reception of Antiquity; the Republic of Letters during the Ancien Régime, its representations and transfers; historiography of classical studies; notions of normality and literary heritage
Book and Printing during the Ancien Régime
Production and circulation of printed works in the 18th century; intellectual and cultural transfers; physical bibliography
Theory of Literary Forms and AEsthetic of Drama
Forms and their limits during the Classical period; 18th-century theatre; classical drama
Performing Arts
Scene setting in the Western Theatre since Antiquity; 18th-century performing arts
History of the French Language
The various forms of French during the 17th and 18th centuries; roots and the heritage of Antiquity in French
Scientific Programmes
CEDIM / IRCL
Recipient of a CNRS international research grant (SMI : Soutien à la Mobilité Internationale) for a 4 months research mission in Athens, Greece, 2017
Funded Scientific Project : “Itinéraire de Naxos à Paris : Décors et costumes 'à la grecque' sur la scène dramatique française du XVIIIe siècle : une histoire mal connue“ [From Naxos to Paris. Setting and Costumes 'à la grecque' on the 18th-Century French Dramatic Stage : a Little Known Story]
Member of the Research Programme “Arts de la scène et du spectacle à l’Âge classique” (Theme 3: “Arrêt sur scène”) [Performing Arts at the Classical Period / Focus on Scene]
- co-organisation of the International Festival-Symposium Night Scenes in Performing Arts (France-England, 16th-18th Centuries), 18-20 June 2014
- member of the Selection Committee, Focus on Scene, peer-reviewed online review of the IRCL
Member of the Research Programme “Circulation des idées et renouvellement des formes littéraires dans l’espace culturel franco-britannique” (Theme 2: “Les Lumières : généalogies, autodéfinitions et interprétations” ; programme “La République européenne des Lettres au XVIIIe siècle : réseaux, transferts et relations Est-Ouest”) [The Circulation of Ideas and the Rejuvenation of Literary Forms in the Franco-British Cultural Space – the Enlightenment: Self-definitions and Interpretations / European Republic of Letters during the 18th-century: Networks, Transfers and East-West Relations] (since 1998)
- Shared responsability for the 18th-century Maguelone database on typographical ornaments: creation, management and improvement, in co-operation with the Lausanne Canton and University Library (2001-2014)
- Co-organizer of the annual seminar for the Young Researchers of the Voltaire Society (Lunel (France): Médard Museum, 22 February 2014) on the theme of antique book collections (The Spirit of Book Collecting)
– Organisation of an international study day (29 May 2012): Les bases de données d’ornements d’imprimerie du XVIIIe siècle : bilan et perspectives [18th-Century Databases of Typographical Ornaments: Current Status and Prospects]
Participation in a team seminar on “Computer Instrumentation”: papers on the inputting into and the operation of the Passe-Partout international database on typographical ornaments, Liège and Lausanne Universities (1998-1999)
Head of a team of researchers on the history of books and printing (1. Production, diffusion and reception of 18th-century works; 2. Publication and exchange of Ideas in Europe during the Enlightenment)
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Society for Topoï Analysis in Novels (Société d’Analyse de la Topique Romanesque – SATOR), Montpellier/Toronto; for the setup, organisation and update of the computerised bibliographical references contained in the Toposator database, an experimental software for the analysis of topoï in novels before the French Revolution (1996-1998)
PLH-ERASME
Co-ordination of the historiographical workshop “The Antiquity Rediscovered through Its Words” for the Semestrial Review Anabases (since 2008)
Requested presentations to conferences and/or international advanced schools
“Meurtre au Céramique : la philosophie au secours de l’investigation ? Enquête sur le polar antique 'grec'” [Murder at the Kerameikos : can philosophy help criminal investigation ? Enquiry about historical crime novels set in Ancient Greece] : annual seminar of the ERASME research team on L’Antiquité imaginée : les références antiques dans les œuvres de fiction (XXe-XXIe siècles) [The Antiquity as a representation : antique background in fictional works (20th-21st Centuries)], University of Toulouse 2, 23 March 2016
“Il faut du nouveau : fonctions et enjeux de l’information théâtrale et musicale internationale dans le Courrier d’Avignon (1733-1793)” [“Il faut du nouveau”: Functions and Issues of International Drama and Music Information in the Courrier d’Avignon (1733-1793)] : International Symposium Les circulations musicales et théâtrales en Europe vers 1750-vers 1850 [The Dissemination of Musical and Theatrical Information in Europe between 1750 and 1850], organised by the Centre de la Méditerranée Moderne et Contemporaine (CMMC)-MSH, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, 20-22 November 2014
Fl. March, M. Soulatges, P. Taïeb, Opening speech (“Prologue”) to the International Festival-Symposium Night Scenes in Performing Arts (France-England, 16th-18th Centuries), University of Montpellier 3, 18-20 June 2014
“Le théâtre d’outre-Manche au prisme d’un 'goût jésuite'?: la bibliothèque dramatique anglaise du Journal de Trévoux (1701-1762)” [English Drama as Seen through the Prism of Jesuit Taste: English Dramatic Collection of the Journal de Trévoux (1701-1762)]; International Symposium on French and English Theaters as a Reflection of Each other (16th-18th Centuries), organised by the IRCL, University of Montpellier 3, 20-21 March 2014
“Qu’est-ce qu’une collection bibliophilique?” [What Is a Rare Book Collection?]: opening remarks at the Annual Meeting for Young Researchers of the Voltaire Society 2014 on the theme L'Esprit de collection [The Spirit of Book Collecting], Lunel (France), Médard Museum, 22 February 2014
“Cataloguer des éditions de Crébillon père conservées à la bibliothèque de l’Arsenal : étude de cas” [A Case Study: Cataloguing Crébillon the Elder's Editions in the Arsenal Library]: Paper presented to the Annual Meeting for Young Researchers of the Voltaire Society, Paris, Library of the Arsenal, 2 April 2013
“Moi n’est jamais que provisoire : la reconnaissance comme symptôme de l’impossible représentation de soi dans les tragédies de Crébillon”, International Festival-Symposium on Recognition Scenes in English and French Theatres (the 17th-18th Centuries), University of Montpellier 3, April 2012
[The Self Is always but Temporary, or Recognition Scenes as Symptoms of the Impossible Representation of the Self in Crébillon the Elder’s Tragedies]
“Le Genre du roman-mémoires à l’époque de la Régence : l’exemple de Manon Lescaut” [The Memoir-novel in the Régence Style: the Example of Manon Lescaut] (3 conferences), Prague (Czech Republic), Karlova Universita, ERASMUS Mobility Programme for Professors, 27-29 April 2009
“Les Classiques à l’épreuve de la scène” [Testing Classical Playwrights on Stage]: 2 series of 4 conferences given as part of the University Training Plan for Teachers of Literature in Secondary Schools (subject : Représenter le théâtre classique [Performing Classical Theatre]), Montpellier, November 2008 and February 2009
“Poétique et dramaturgie du théâtre classique” [Poetics and Dramaturgy of Classical Theatre]: 4 conferences given as part of the University Training Plan for Teachers of Literature in Secondary Schools (subject: Enseigner le théâtre classique [Teaching Classical Theatre]), Montpellier, November 2008
“Dramaturgie du travestissement au XVIIIe siècle : le théâtre de Marivaux et La Fausse Suivante” [Cross-dressing on Stage in the 18th Century: Marivaux’s Theatre and La Fausse Suivante], 4 conferences as part of the University Training Plan for Teachers of Literature in Secondary Schools in theatre classes (subject : Dramaturgie de Marivaux dans La Fausse Suivante [Marivaux’s Dramaturgy in La Fausse Suivante]), Scène nationale de Narbonne, February 2007
“Scénographies du théâtre occidental : étude des dispositifs scéniques de l’Antiquité à l’Âge classique” [Stage Designs in the Western World: Scenic Devices from Antiquity to the Classical Period]: conference as part of the Departmental Training Plan for First-level Teachers, Aix-en-Provence, May 2005
“Succès de scène ou succès de librairie ? Remarques sur l’édition originale de la tragédie de Crébillon, Rhadamisthe et Zénobie (1711) et sur un exemplaire conservé à la Bibliothèque municipale de Dijon” [Stage Success or Best-seller? Observations between the Original Edition of Crébillo’s Rhadamisthe et Zénobie (1711) and a Copy Held in Dijon’s Municipal Library], Dijon, Académie des sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres, October 1999
“Crébillon père, Crébillon fils : une relation d’une bien étrange nature...” [Crébillon the Elder, Crébillon the Younger: A Very Strange Relationship…], Grenoble Stendhal University (invitation by the Study Centre on Senstivities, in Grenoble, as part of the critical edition of Crébillon the Younger’s complete works, dir. J. Sgard), May 1998
“La banque de données Passe-Partout (ornements typographiques de l’édition XVIIIe) à l’épreuve d’un cas bibliologique complexe (les éditions Ribou du théâtre de Crébillon)” [Testing the Passe-Partout Database on 18th-century Typographical Ornaments against the Complex Bibliological Case of Crébillon the Elder’s Theatre Editions by Ribou], research seminar on electronic instrumentation of the Centre for 18th-century Studies (CEDIM), Montpellier III Paul-Valéry University, April 1998
“Rigueur et subtilités du fichier bibliographique électronique de Toposator » [Rigour and Subtleties of the Toposator’s Computerised Bibliographical Fil”], Anniversary Symposium of the Society for Topoï Analysis Novels (Société d’Analyse de la Topique Romanesque – SATOR), Montpellier III Paul-Valéry University, June-July 1997
“Pour une approche oblique du topos satorien : le motif en physique cristalline” [For an Approach to the Satorian Topos: the Crystal-physics Motif], Anniversary Symposium of the Society for Topoï Analysis Novels (Société d’Analyse de la Topique Romanesque – SATOR), Montpellier III Paul-Valéry University, June-July 1997
“L’Idoménée de Crébillon est-elle une tragédie édifiante ?” [Is Crébillon the Elder’s, Idoménée an Edifying Play?], Perpignan, Université des Lettres, December 1995
“La Cathodoluminescence : une nouvelle méthode d’analyse des archéomatériaux” [Cathodoluminescence, a New Analytical Method for Archaeomaterials], Annual Day of Vaucluse Archaeologists under the aegis of the General Council, Sault, June 1994
Publication
Research monographs
Crébillon (Prosper Jolyot de), Théâtre complet, t. I et II [“Crébillon’s Complete Plays”, Vols. 1 and 2], critical edition, Classiques Garnier, 2012-2017
– Vol. I (600 p.), 2012: Idoménée, Atrée et Thyeste, Électre, Rhadamisthe et Zénobie, Xercès
– Vol. II (450 p.), going to press: Sémiramis, Pyrrhus, Catilina, Le Triumvirat, Cromwel
Inventory, description and bibliographical analysis of the Verrue Collection (90 volumes, 380 editions from the 17th and 18th centuries), kept in the Nîmes Carré d'Art Library, in parallel with its digitization in the e-corpus digital library (Centre of Book Conservation in Arles), 2013
Le Théâtre français du XVIIIe siècle [18th-century French Theatre], dir. P. Frantz and S. Marchand, L’Avant-scène théâtre, 2009
– La Tragédie (ch. 1er, in Partie I : Du tournant du XVIIe siècle à la crise des Lumières)
– La Comédie française et italienne (ch. 3, in Partie I : Du tournant du XVIIe siècle à la crise des Lumières)
– La Prolifération des genres (ch. 2 B, in Partie II : De la naissance du drame à la Révolution)
– Dictionnaire des auteurs, bibliographical notes of eleven authors
[Chapter 1: Tragedy and Chapter 3: French and Italian Comedies (From the Turn of the 17th Century to the Crisis of the Enlightenment); Chapter 2: The Proliferation of Literary Genres (in From the Bourgeois Drama to the French Revolution); Dictionary of Authors]
Rhadamisthe et Zénobie, tragedy by Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, Éditions Espace 34 ("Espace Théâtre"), 1999
Articles
"Le théâtre d’outre-Manche au prisme d’un 'goût jésuite'?: la bibliothèque dramatique anglaise du Journal de Trévoux (1701-1762)" [English Drama as Seen through the Prism of Jesuit Taste : English Dramatic Collection of the Journal de Trévoux (1701-1762)]. Proceedings of the International Symposium on French and English Theaters as a Reflection of Each other (16th-18th Centuries) (University of Montpellier 3, 20-21 March 2014), in Les théâtres […] : contacts, circulation, influences, Rennes: PUR, « Le spectaculaire », 2016, p. 251-267
Fl. March, M. Soulatges, P. Taïeb, « Prologue » of the International Festival-Symposium Night Scenes in Performing Arts (France-England, 16th-18th Centuries) (University of Montpellier 3, 18-20 June 2014), Arrêt sur scène/Scene Focus, n° 4, 2015, p. 1-12
R. Goudeseune, M. Soulatges, « La « collection de livres » de Louis Médard » [The Rare Book Collection of Louis Médard], L’Esprit de collection [The Spirit of Book Collecting], B. Ferrier, St. Géhanne-Gavoty, R. Goudeseune & M. Soulatges Eds., Voltaire numérique 4, Ferney-Voltaire: Société Voltaire Online Publications, 2015, p. 5-13
"Crébillon dramaturge de l’húbris : une poétique de l’outrage". Le Sacré en question : Bible et mythes sur les scènes du XVIIIe siècle, B. Ferrier Ed., Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2015, p.75-95
[Crébillon, Playwright of the Hubris: the Blasphematory Style, in Questioning the Sacred: Biblical and Mythological Themes on Stage during the 18th Century]
"Cataloguer des éditions de Crébillon père conservées à l’Arsenal : étude de cas." [A Case Study: Cataloguing Crébillon the Elder's Editions in the Arsenal Library]. Bibliothèques, bibliophilie, bibliographie [Libraries, Book Collecting, Bibliography], B. Ferrier and S. Géhanne-Gavoty Eds., Voltaire numérique 2, Ferney-Voltaire: Société Voltaire Online Publications, 2013, p. 15-21
"Moi n’est jamais que provisoire: la reconnaissance comme symptôme de l’impossible représentation de soi dans les tragédies de Crébillon". Proceedings of the International Festival-Symposium La Scène de reconnaissance dans les théâtres anglais et français (XVIe-XVIIIe siècles) (4-6 April 2012, University of Montpellier 3), Arrêt sur scène/Scene Focus n° 2 2013 [http://www.ircl.cnrs.fr/francais/arret_scene/2_2013/asf2_2013_soulatges.pdf]
[The Self Is Always but Temporary, or Recognizing Others as Symptoms of the Impossible Representation of the Self / Recognition Scenes in English and French Theatres (16th-18th Centuries)]
"Réfractions d’Hérodote dans le grand reportage de Ryszard Kapuscinski : l’exemple du Shah, ou la démesure du pouvoir (1982)", in Hérodote : formes de pensée, figures du récit, dir. J. Alaux, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2012
[Refractions of Herodotus in Ryszard Kapuscinski’s In-depth Reporting: the Example of the Shah of Shahs (1982), in Herodotus: Ways of Thinking, Narrative Figures]
"Les Thrillers de Daniel Chavarría, ou la rencontre de l’érudition classique et du polar cubain" [Daniel Chavarria’s Thrillers, or an Encounter between Classical Scholarship and Cuban Crime Fictions]
1. "L’Ecriture policière : une forme ouverte aux affleurements de la référence antique" [Mystery Stories: a Suitable Form for References to Antiquity]. Anabases, n° 16, 2012, p. 285-293
2. "L’Œil de Cybèle : le vocable gréco-latin entre étymologie savante et (ré)invention ironique" [The Eye of Cybele: Greco-latin Words between Etymology and Ironic (Re)invention]. Anabases, n° 18, 2013, p. 246-257
"Quels nouveaux développements pour les bases de données d’ornements d’imprimerie ?" [M. Soulatges, C. Fortuny, S. Corsini], online on the web sites of the IRCL (Montpellier, http://www.ircl.cnrs.fr), the Société wallonne d’étude du 18e siècle (SWEDHS, Liège, http://www.swedhs.org), the Association pour l’histoire du livre et de la lecture en Suisse romande (AHLL, Genève, http://www.histoiredulivre.ch) and the École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de l’Information et des Bibliothèques (ENSSIB, Lyon, http://www.enssib.fr), September 2012 [see also the abstract : Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France, n° 6, November 2012]
[Current Status and Prospects for Databases of 18th-century Printed Ornaments]
"Les 'Musées de papier' ou le règne quasi sans partage de l’in-folio illustré", Anabases, n° 15, 2012, p. 129-142
["Musées de Papier" or the Quasi-absolute Domination of Illustrated In-folios]
"1762 : décès de Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon", in Célébrations de Bourgogne, Dijon (Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres), November 2011, p. 82
[online too : http://celebrations-de-bourgogne.org/1762-de%cc%81ce%cc%80s-de-prosper-jolyot-de-cre%cc%81billon-dramaturge/]
[1762: the Year Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon Died]
"Tenez, pour le voyage, ou comment les enquêtes d’Hérodote peuvent remplacer celles d’Hercule Poirot dans les bagages d’un grand reporter", Anabases, n° 11, 2010, p. 221-228
[Here, for the trip! Or How Herodotus Inquiries may Replace Hercule Poirot’s in a Great Reporter’s Luggage]
"Le Modèle polonais de la silva rerum dans l’écriture du grand reportage par Ryszard Kapuscinski", Anabases, n° 10, 2009, p. 264-273
[The Polish Model of the Silva Rerum and Ryszard Kapuscinski’s In-depth Reporting]
"L’Antiquité retrouvée par ses mots : en guise de préambule", Anabases, n° 9, 2009, p. 278 285
[Antiquity Rediscovered through Its Words: a Preamble]
"La Dramaturgie de l’Horrible au XVIIIe siècle : épuisement ou réinvention du spectacle tragique ?", Proceedings of the conference Le Spectateur de théâtre à l’Âge classique : public réel, destinataire supposé, représentations in Montpellier (20-21 October 2006), L’Entretemps, 2008, p. 129-147
[The Dramaturgy of Horror in the 18th Century: the Depletion or Rejuvenation of Tragedy, in The Spectator during the Classical Age: the Actual Public, the Expected Recipient and Stage Performances]
"Spectacle tragique et frontières génériques : les enjeux du spectaculaire dans les tragédies de Crébillon", Proceedings of the conference Campistron et consorts : tragédie et opéra en France (1680-1733) in Toulouse (5-7 December 2002), Littératures classiques, n° 52, Autumn 2004, p. 101-114
[Tragic Performance and Generic Borders: Gore Elements in Crébillon’s Tragedies, in Campistron and His Colleagues: Tragedy and Opera in France (1680-1733)]
"Crébillon père 'fossoyeur' de la tragédie classique ?", Proceedings of the conference Tragédies tardives, Besançon (17-18 December 1998), Champion, 2002, p. 31-42
[Did Crébillon the Elder Bury Classical Tragedy?, in Symposium on Later Tragedies]
"Idoménée de Fénelon à Crébillon père : du statut ambigu donné à l’expérience tragique", [Idoménée, from Fénelon to Crébillon the Elder: from a Give, Ambiguous Status to Tragical Experience], Dix-huitième Siècle, n° 28, 1996, p. 385-396; text based on a paper given during an Agrégation day on Fénelon’s Aventures de Télémaque at Montpellier III Paul-Valéry University (January 1995)
Forthcoming Publications :
M. Royo, M. Soulatges, "Enquête sur le polar historique 'grec': la philosophie au secours de l’investigation?" [Murder at the Kerameikos: can philosophy help criminal investigation? Enquiry about historical crime novels set in Ancient Greece], Proceedings of the annual seminar of the research team ERASME on the reception of Antiquity [Fictional Antiquity: Ancient References in Modern Fiction (20th-21st Centuries)] (University of Toulouse 2, 23 March 2016), Bordeaux, Éditions Ausonius, 2017
"Et hic est finis: Bibliomanie (G. Flaubert), ou le livre-arbitre" [Et hic est finis : Bibliomanie (G. Flaubert), or the Book as a Vanitas], Microlectures II, n°17 of the online review Flaubert. Revue critique et génétique, June 2017
“Il faut du nouveau: Functions and Issues of International Drama and Music Information in the Courrier d’Avignon (1733-1793)". Proceedings of the International Symposium on Les circulations musicales et théâtrales en Europe vers 1750-vers 1850 [The Dissemination of Musical and Theatrical Information in Europe between 1750 and 1850] (University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, 20-22 November 2014), to-be-published at Oxford, Voltaire Foundation (Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment), 2017
Work in Progress
"Itinéraire de Naxos à Paris : Décors et costumes 'à la grecque' sur la scène dramatique française du XVIIIe siècle : une histoire mal connue" [From Naxos to Paris. Setting and Costumes « à la grecque » on the 18th-Century French Dramatic Stage : a Hardly-known Story] : a four-month mission for archival research led in Athens (Greece) as part of a scientific project granted and funded by the CNRS (SMI : Soutien à la Mobilité Internationale), May-June and September-October 2017
Bibliographie et histoire éditoriale de Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon [Bibliography and Editorial History of Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon], Publications of the International Study Centre for the 18th Century, Ferney-Voltaire
Scientific promotion and development of two unreported 18th-century theatre collections kept in the Carré d’Art Library, Nîmes : inventory, description and bibliographical analysis of the nearly 500 editions of these two bibliophilic collections belonging to the Count of Boulbon (Provence), and Louis Morache, a Protestant industrialist from Nîmes at the beginning of the 20th Century (continuation of the CNRS Project on the Countess of Verrue’s Theatre Library)
Research Activities
Magali Soulatges
