When the Jewish captain Alfred Dreyfus was accused of treason in 1894 by a French military tribunal and imprisoned, French society erupted into a fireball of anti-Semitism and political partisanship that called into question the very nature of French identity. This tragic private drama played out in a very public arena, and truth itself was on trial. Not only the press but also artists, writers, and musicians became entangled in a controversy that lasted almost two decades and continues to resonate to this day. The seminar will address the cultural, political, and musical repercussions of the Dreyfus Affair and its relevance for today’s political climate.

Ali Nematollahy, Associate Professor of French at Baruch College and
The Graduate Center, CUNY
James Melo, ERC’s musicologist and Senior Editor at RILM

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