International conference organized by Sandra Laugier, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and director of the ERC DEMOSERIES project, Tatsiana Zhurauliova, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne and manager of the ERC DEMOSERIES project, Camille Braune, PhD student and research assistant to the ERC DEMOSERIES project, and Thibaut de Saint-Maurice, PhD student within the ERC DEMOSERIES project, with the support of the Paris IAS.

Event closed to the public.

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 aims 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 seeks 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.

Partners

- ERC DEMOSERIES
- Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
- ISJPS : Institut des sciences juridique et philosophique de la Sorbonne (UMR 8103)
- CNRS

Program

Thursday 6 March

9am - 9.10am: Welcome
9.10am - 9.15am: Opening Remarks by Sandra Laugier, Principal Investigator of ERC DEMOSERIES, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
9.15am - 10.30am: Panel 1. Democracy and Security
Moderator: Sandra Laugier
Thibaut de Saint Maurice (Université 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 (Université de Picardie), “Politiciens ou super-vilains ?”
10.30am - 11am: Coffee nreak
11am - 12.45pm: Panel 2. Gender, Race and Inclusion
Moderator: Benjamin Campion (CEAC, Université de Lille)
Anne Besson (Université d'Arras), “Arc-en-ciel : le nouvel éventail des désirs dans les séries pour ados”
Eric Maigret (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle), “Surfer sur la vague MeToo ou plonger dans l’océan des différences?"
Alexandre Diallo (EHESS), “Jaq and the City: A Black, Queer, and Gendered Struggle”
Juliet Floyd (Boston University), “Disney as Progressive Platform”
12.45pm - 2.15pm: Lunch break
2.15pm - 3.30pm: Round Table 1. Films and TV series
Moderator: Philippe Codognet (JFLI - CNRS - UPMC - University of Tokyo)
Géraldine Poels (Institut national de l'audiovisuel)
Amélie Galli and Judith Revault d’Allonnes (Centre Pompidou)
Barbara Turquier (La Fémis : École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son)
Caroline San Martin (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Tatsiana Zhurauliova (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES)
3.30pm - 3.45pm: Break
3.45pm - 6.45pm: Conversations with Creators: Series at War
(3.45pm - 5pm). Director and screenwriter Tawfik Abu Wael
Moderators: Ophir Lévy and Ayelet Lilti
Tawfik Abu Wael is an Arab-Israeli film director, producer and screenwriter. He graduated from the University of Tel Aviv, where he studied filmmaking. From 1996 to 1998 he worked in the film archives of the same university, and until 1999 he taught acting at the Hassan Arafe School in Jaffa. Since 1997, he has worked as a freelance producer and director. His films include Waiting for Salah alDin (2001), Atash (Thirst, 2004), Last Days in Jerusalem (2011), and Freedom Train (2017). He is co-creator, with Hagai Levi and Joseph Cedar, of the television series Our Boys (HBO and Keshet Studios, 2019) and Alumim (Unknowns, Kan 11, 2021) with Guy Sidis and Nirit Yaron.
(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 television series PJ (France 2, 1997-2009) and Un village français (France 3, 2008-2017). In 2021, together with Thibault Valetoux, and based on an original idea by the latter, he created the television series Sentinelles (OCS). The series’ first season (2022) immerses the viewer in the French army’s Barkhane operation 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 7 March

9am - 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 (CNRS-EHESS), “Vingt ans après : retour sur une enquête de réception”
Clément Combes (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle), “Evolution de la pratique en 2017 et 2022”
Hervé Glevarec (CNRS), “Des personnages qui comptent et des séries qui font réfléchir”
10.30am - 11am: Coffee break
11am - 12.45pm: Panel 4. Digital aesthetics
Moderator: Vanessa Nurock (Université de Côte d'Azur)
Antonio Rodriguez (Université de Lausanne), “Numbers and Letters: Digital Aesthetics for Minimalist Opening Titles”
Jeroen Gerrits (State Univeristy of New York at Binghamton), “As the World Turns Digital: Reflections on the De-Ontology of TV”
David LaRocca (State University of New York at Cotland), "Photograph, Screen, AI"
James Katz (Boston University)
12.45pm - 2.15pm: Lunch break
2.15pm - 3.30pm: Panel 5. Transmission of Values and Moral Education
Moderator: Camille Braune (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ERC DEMOSERIES)
Carole Desbarats (Rencontres du Havre sur les séries), “Pourquoi montrer des séries?”
Hugo Clémot (Université Gustave Eiffel), “Backlash antiséries : défense d’un art populaire”
Martin Shuster (Université 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
Moderator: Sandra Laugier
François Jost (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle)
Pierre Langlais (Télérama)
Amélie Ferey (Institut Français des Relations Internationales)
Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris (Université Paris Nanterre)
Rémi Tereszkiewicz (BetaSeries)
Piergiorgio Donatelli (University of Rome La Sapienza)
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Cocktail reception

More about ERC DEMOSERIES