June 27-29, 2024
Sorbonne Université (Day 1) and Université Paris Nanterre (Days 2 and 3)

This international conference aims at re-examining the notion of “Pre-Code Hollywood” and its periodization. Scholars from all over the world will examine the socio-political, ideological, and aesthetic negotiations conducted by the studios before July 1934, to go beyond the approach that consists in reducing “Pre-Code cinema” to the early days of the talkies, generally approached through the prism of scandal, provocation, and the expression of the forbidden. The aim is to take a fresh look at the impact of this rise in censorship from 1921 onwards and on the intensification of the public conversation on the need for censorship.
The conference will focus on how films were made prior to 1934, despite or because of these tough negotiations, and on how the studios and the Hays administration were able to use the power of public opinion and respond to its pressures to protect the Hollywood industry.

Registration to the conference is mandatory for in-person attendance. The fees include the buffet lunches and refreshments for the three days of the conference.
Students pay a reduced fee.

Guest speakers :

Marguerite Chabrol, Université Paris 8
Thomas Doherty, Brandeis University
Charles Wolfe, University of California, Santa Barbara

Organizing committee :

Claire Dutriaux, Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris, Joséphine Grébaut, Joanne Vrignaud, Antoine Simms

Conference Organizers and Scientific committee :

Claire Dutriaux, Gilles Menegaldo, Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris, Fran Pheasant-Kelly