Between Theory and Practice: The 19th Century French Socialist Press at the Stanford University Libraries Nov. 1-2, 2013

The Stanford University Libraries is home to the Gustave Gimon Collection of French political economy. Acquired in 1996 with the generous help of Jean-Paul Gimon and Eleanor Hewlett Gimon and other family members, the collection’s name honors the donor’s father, the French resistant known as “Agent G2.” Gustave Gimon’s pharmacy in Saint-Etienne served as a hub for local Resistance operations as well as members of the OSS. With his participation in the fight against oppression and actions promoting social engagement, it is fitting that his name adorns this collection. The collection was initially put together by the French bookseller Michel Bernstein, a student of political economy who was particularly fascinated by the development of governments and early forms of socialism.  Like Gustave Gimon, Michel Bernstein participated in the French Resistance. He had opened his first antiquarian bookshop in 1932, but during the Vichy period he went underground, creating a clandestine printing shop (atelier des faux) to produce false identity papers. After the war, Michel Bernstein returned to his work as an antiquarian bookseller, creating and selling important collections documenting French political and intellectual movements and ideas. His scholarly interests may be traced back to his father, Leonid Bernstein, a Russian political activist who was exiled in France in 1898 and became a printer, journalist, and eventually the French agent for the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow. The lineage of this collection thus forms an appropriate match for its contents, which explore ideas related to the most just way to structure and govern a society.

The collection has been well-used by scholars since its arrival at Stanford. An exhibit in 1997 entitled “Before the Dismal Science: Selections from the Gustave Gimon Collection of French Political Economy” was accompanied by a keepsake of the same title. In 2004, the Libraries held an international conference that coincided with the publication of the catalogue of the collection edited by my predecessor, Mary Jane Parrine. Both the exhibit and the catalogue were entitled “A Vast and Useful Art, The Gustave Gimon Collection on French Political Economy. ” Following these events, Jean-Paul Gimon was eager to find more ways of promoting the collection among scholars, and through the Flora Foundation, accepted the proposal to fund the Gustave Gimon Collection on French Political Economy Fellowship Endowment. This fund has brought several scholars to campus each year since 2006 for the purpose of consulting materials in the collection for their research. Sadly, Jean-Paul Gimon passed away in 2005 just as the visiting scholar program was getting off the ground.

While the collection spans from the 16^th century through 1848, one part of this collection has received particular attention by researchers -  the nineteenth century French socialist press. These materials include workers’ journals such as L’Echo de la Fabrique, as well as periodicals associated with mid-19^th century utopian socialist movements such as the Saint-Simonians (L’Europeen) and the Fourierists (La Phalange), and various links tie the materials together. With these rare materials in mind, and pushed by Edward Castleton, a specialist on Proudhon and former Gimon visiting fellow, we have organized this conference, jointly sponsored by the France –Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Stanford University Libraries, and ANR-UTOPIES19:

Between Theory and Practice:

The 19th Century French Socialist Press at the Stanford University Libraries

IC Classroom, Green Library, Stanford University 

Nov. 1-2, 2013

Friday, November 1:
9-9:30: Welcome


9:30-11:30
Michel Bellet (Université de Saint-Etienne): “"The Constitution of an Economic Doctrine: An Overview of the Saint-Simonian Newspapers (1825-1832)"
Alexander Jordan (European Institute University): “From industrie to the Gospel of Work: The Saint-Simonians and Thomas Carlyle”

11:30-12:30 Barchas Room visit, Special Collections – viewing of materials

12:30-1:30 Lunch break

1:30-3:30
George Sheridan (University of Oregon): "Justice for the Workshop: The Advocacy Journalism of L’Echo de la Fabrique"
Ludovic Frobert (ENS-Lyon): “Christianity, Socialism and Political Economy: Pierre-Simon Ballanche, Philippe Buchez, Auguste Ott”

3:45-5:45
Thomas Bouchet (Université de Bourgogne): “La Phalange, été 1840 : un tournant dans l’histoire de la presse sociétaire ?”
Rachel Chrastil (Xavier University): “Suzanne Voilquin: Childlessness, Households and Community”

Saturday, November 2 :
9:30 coffee and pastries

10-12
Naomi Andrews (Santa Clara University): "Barbarity, civilization, and the worker-settler in La Revue Sociale, 1845-1850."
Francois Jarrige (Universite de Bourgogne): “La typographie sociétaire :Presse, technologie et politique sous la monarchie de Juillet (1830-1848)”

12-1 Lunch break

1-3
Philippe Le Goff (University of Warwick): “‘La faim justifie les moyens’: Auguste Blanqui, ‘structural’ violence and the socialist press”
Vincent Bourdeau (Université of Franche-Comté): “La république économique de Constantin Pecqueur : de l’expérience de la Commission du Luxembourg au « Salut du Peuple. Journal de la Science Sociale (déc. 1849-mai 1850)”

3:15-5:15
Edward Castleton (Université de Franche-Comté): “Proudhon’s newspapers against all others: Of Enemies and Editorials, 1849-1850.”
Jonathan Beecher (University of California, Santa Cruz): “Proudhon and 1848”

Closing comments

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Attendance is open to all - non-Stanford attendees please rsvp to Sarah Sussman ssussman@stanford.edu


Abstracts available on the Conference website