Presented by the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, the New Directions in Francophone Studies lecture series (https://events.uchicago.edu/live/files/87-updated-january-2024-flyer) welcomes Amber Bal, PhD Candidate, Department of Romance Studies, Cornell University.  The lecture is entitled, The not-so-simple nomination des choses: Pastoral, Place, and Paratexts in Senghorian poetry: Taking my cue from Léopold Sédar Senghor’s mysterious remark about the simplicity of naming things (la simple nomination des choses) in his postface to Éthiopiques, this talk will explore the overlooked pastoral strain within Senghorian poetry. Investigating eruptions of this pastoral tonic key renews meditations on how and to what end rurality, paradise, and utopia actually figure as spaces within Senghor’s poetic oeuvre.