BOOK LAUNCH: Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film

MA in Global Medical and Health Humanities

Join us to celebrate the publication of the new book by Benjamin Dalton: Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film

Lancaster University Library

This is a hybrid event:Join us in-person at the Lancaster University Library for a drinks reception, cake, and panel disccussion from 5-6:30.Join us online at the start of the panel discussion from 5:30PM. Here is the Teams Link: <a href="https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MmM4NmI4NDUtMWM2ZS00MGFjLTllN2ItNzk1MjZmZDJiNjUy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%229c9bcd11-977a-4e9c-a9a0-bc734090164a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22839d7c9c-817f-42d5-9eb8-f60d28a46b55%22%7d" title="https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MmM4NmI4NDUtMWM2ZS00MGFjLTllN2ItNzk1MjZmZDJiNjUy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%229c9bcd11-977a-4e9c-a9a0-bc734090164a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22839d7c9c-817f-42d5-9eb8-f60d28a46b55%22%7d" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">BOOK LAUNCH for Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Lit and Film (EUP, 2026) by Benjamin Dalton @ LU Library (drinks, cake, discussion) | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams</a> In what ways do our bodies and brains mutate and transform? What kinds of metamorphoses do we embark upon during our lives? How have different disciplines conceptualised bodily mutability and transformation, from neuroscientific discourses of the neuroplastic transformability of the human brain to epigenetic explorations of the unpredictability of biology itself? What does it mean to witness those around us transform and change? What happens when somebody we love metamorphoses, even to the point of becoming unrecognizable?The new book by Benjamin Dalton, <a href="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-catherine-malabou-and-contemporary-french-literature-and-film.html" title="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-catherine-malabou-and-contemporary-french-literature-and-film.html" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film: Witnessing Plasticity</a> (Edinburgh University Press, 2026), tackles these questions in bringing the work of contemporary French philosopher Catherine Malabou on plasticity together with representations of bodily and neural transformation in contemporary literature and film. Join us for the launch of the new book by Benjamin Dalton which explores these questions.Join us to celebrate the publication of this book and to learn more about the stories behind it, from intellectual adventures through French philosophy to personal experiences of brain surgery. This event will comprise both a drinks reception and a panel discussion, bringing together scholars working on bodies, brains, and transformation across the university. About the author:Benjamin Dalton is Lecturer in French Studies in the School of Global Affairs at Lancaster University. He has published widely on the work of the contemporary philosopher Catherine Malabou, with articles in <a href="https://essaysinfrenchliteratureandculture.wordpress.com/benjamin-daltonthe-plastic-hospital-catherine-malabous-architectural-therapeutics-essays-in-french-literature-and-culture-58-2021/" title="https://essaysinfrenchliteratureandculture.wordpress.com/benjamin-daltonthe-plastic-hospital-catherine-malabous-architectural-therapeutics-essays-in-french-literature-and-culture-58-2021/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Essays in French Literature and Culture</a>, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45282343" title="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45282343" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dalhousie French Studies</a>, <a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.1093/fs/knae152%4010.3828/fs.2025.2025.issue-_Virtual_Issue" title="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.1093/fs/knae152%4010.3828/fs.2025.2025.issue-_Virtual_Issue" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">French Studies</a>, <a href="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2024.0283" title="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2024.0283" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Film-Philosophy</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09639489.2022.2047624" title="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09639489.2022.2047624" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Modern and Contemporary France</a>, and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26682510" title="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26682510" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Paragraph</a>, as well as his 2026 book with Edinburgh University Press, <a href="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-catherine-malabou-and-contemporary-french-literature-and-film.html" title="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-catherine-malabou-and-contemporary-french-literature-and-film.html" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film: Witnessing Plasticity</a>. His more recent research at the intersections of medical humanities and French studies has focused on dialogues between philosophy and hospital design, arguing that such dialogues hold the key to transforming the hospitals of the future (see recent articles in <a href="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/nfs.2023.0390" title="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/nfs.2023.0390" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Nottingham French Studies</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2024.2392954" title="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2024.2392954" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Senses &amp; Society</a>, and <a href="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/para.2024.0473" title="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/para.2024.0473" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Paragraph</a>). He is also founder and leader of the Queer Medical Humanities Network at Lancaster University.

Agenda

Welcome drinks and cake 

Panel discussion

Audience Q&A

Informal raffle, further refreshments 

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

BOOK LAUNCH: Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film

More events from MA in Global Medical and Health Humanities

Discover more events from MA in Global Medical and Health Humanities, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

BOOK LAUNCH: Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film

More events from MA in Global Medical and Health Humanities

Discover more events from MA in Global Medical and Health Humanities, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

More Arts events

Browse more Arts events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.