Closing Conference of DEMOSERIES: Shaping Democratic Spaces: Security and TV Series
Presentation
Launched in 2020, the ERC DEMOSERIES project, led by Sandra Laugier, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, brings together a team of philosophers, sociologists, political scientists, and media studies specialists to explore a corpus of “security series” from conception to reception.
Funded by the European Research Council, it aimed to study the aesthetic potential of TV series for visualising political and ethical issues; to examine how “security series” are conceived by both their creators and their audiences; to understand the influence of these series on their viewers, in particular how they create shared and shareable moral values in the EU and beyond; and to elucidate the crucial role of TV series in developing a collective and pragmatic understanding of democracy. The project also sought to study the soft power of TV series and understand how they contribute to democratic dialogue in society, creating a new public space.
The closing conference of the ERC DEMOSERIES therefore aims to take stock of the main results and findings of the project between 2020 and 2025—a period of radical change in the modes of production, distribution and reception of series; firstly by addressing a number of key themes: security and democracy, wars and conflicts, gender and diversity, moral values created and transmitted by the series; then by reflecting on the globalisation of the series, their “platformisation”, their status as cultural heritage, as well as the growing role of digital technology and AI, especially as part of recommendation systems.
The conference brings together some fifty researchers, creators, and cultural industry professionals from around the world who have collaborated on and enriched the project over the past five years.
Location
Institut d’études avancées de Paris, Salle des Gardes, 1st Floor.
17 quai d’Anjou, 75004 Paris.
Programme
THURSDAY, MARCH 6TH
Institut d’études avancées de Paris, Salle des Gardes, 1st Floor
9:00am-9:10am: Welcome
9:10am-9:15am: Opening Remarks by Sandra Laugier, Principal Investigator of the ERC DEMOSERIES
9:15am-10:30am: Panel 1. Democracy and Security
Moderator: Sandra Laugier (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES)
Thibaut de Saint Maurice (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES), “Typologie des menaces dans les séries”
Sylvie Allouche (UCLy, ERC DEMOSERIES), “Complots fictionnels et complotisme en démocratie”
Théo Touret-Dengreville (ERC DEMOSERIES), “Politiciens ou super-vilains?”
10:30am-11:00am: Coffee Break
11:00am-12:45am: Panel 2. Gender, Race, and Inclusion
Moderator : Benjamin Campion (CEAC, Université de Lille)
Anne Besson (University of Arras), “Arc-en-ciel : le nouvel éventail des désirs dans les séries pour ados”
Eric Maigret (University Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle), “Surfer sur la vague MeToo ou plonger dans l'océan des différences?"
Alexandre Diallo (ERC DEMOSERIES), “Jaq and the City: A Black, Queer, and Gendered Struggle”
Juliet Floyd (Boston University), “Disney as Progressive Platform”
12:45am-2:15pm: Lunch Break
2:15pm-3:30pm: Round Table 1. Film and TV Series
Moderator: Philippe Codognet (JFLI – CNRS – UPMC – University of Tokyo)
Géraldine Poels (INA)
Amélie Galli et Judith Revault d’Allonnes (Centre Pompidou)
Barbara Turquier (FEMIS)
Tatsiana Zhurauliova (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES)
3:30pm-3:45pm: Afternoon Break
3:45pm-6:45pm: Conversations with Series’ Creators: Series at War
3:45pm-5:00pm: Director and Screenwriter Tawfik Abu Wael.
Moderators: Ophir Lévy (University Paris 8) and Ayelet Lilti (Sciences PO)
Tawfik Abu Wael is an Arab-Israeli film director, creator and screenwriter, and a graduate of the University of Tel Aviv, where he studied filmmaking. He worked in the film archives of the same university. He also taught acting until 1999 at the Hassan Arafe School in Jaffa. Since 1997, he has been working freelance as a producer and director. Amongst others, his films include Atash (2004), Last Days in Jerusalem (2011), Our Boys (2019) and Alumin (2021).
5:15pm-6:45pm: Screenwriter Frédéric Krivine.
Screening of the First Episode of Sentinelles-Ukraine (Ciné+ Ocs, 2024).
Moderator: Thibaut de Saint-Maurice.
Frédéric Krivine is a writer and screenwriter. He is the creator of the TV series PJ (1997-2009) and Un village français (2008-2017). In 2021, with Thibault Valetoux, and based on an original idea by the latter, he created the TV series Sentinelles, the first season of which plunges the viewer into the French army's Operation Barkhane in Mali. The second season (2024) recounts the first week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as seen by French soldiers in Romania and civilians fleeing Ukraine.
FRIDAY, MARCH 7TH
Institut d’études avancées de Paris, Salle des Gardes, 1st Floor
9:00am-9:15am: Welcome
9:15am-10:30am: Panel 3. The Reception of TV Series
Moderator: Thibaut de Saint Maurice
Paul Standish (University College London), “Criticism and Praise”
Sabine Chalvon-Demersay (EHESS), “Vingt ans après : retour sur une enquête de réception”
Clément Combes (University Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle), “Évolution de la pratique en 2017 et 2022”
Hervé Glevarec (CNRS), “Des personnages qui comptent et des séries qui font réfléchir”
10:30am-11:00am: Coffee Break
11:00am-12:45am: Panel 4. Digital Aesthetics
Moderator: Vanessa Nurock (University of Côte d’Azur)
Jeroen Gerrits (Binghamton University), “As the World Turns Digital: Reflections on the De-Ontology of TV”
Antonio Rodriguez (University of Lausanne), “Des chiffres et des lettres : esthétiques numériques pour des génériques minimalistes”
James Katz & David LaRocca
12:45am-2:15pm: Lunch Break
2:15pm-3:30pm: Panel 5. Transmission of Values and Moral Education
Moderator: Camille Braune (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES)
Carole Desbarats (FEMIS, Member of the Journal Esprit), “Pourquoi montrer des séries?”
Hugo Clémot (University of Gustave Eiffel), “Backlash antiséries : défense d’un art populaire”
Zoom: Martin Shuster (University of North Carolina), “The Moment of New ‘New Television’”
3:30pm-3:45pm: Break
3:45pm-5:15pm: Closing Round Table. The Future of TV Series
Conversation with: Sandra Laugier
François Jost (University Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle), Pierre Langlais (Journalist Télérama), Amélie Ferey (IFRI – LRD), Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris (University of Paris Nanterre), Rémi Tereszkiewicz (BetaSeries), Tatsiana Zhurauliova and Piergiorgio Donatelli (University of Rome La Sapienza)
5.30pm-6.30pm: Cocktail Reception
