51st Annual Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium

The 2025 NCFS Colloquium explores the theme of "play"

A period of rapid social, political, and aesthetic change, the French nineteenth century saw the emergence of play as a hallmark of modern life. Paris’s expansive public parks, its numerous theatres and cafés, and even its new department stores were all conceived with an eye to play, leisure, and enjoyment. On the French Riviera, the famous Monte Carlo Casino satisfied similar impulses. Amid this newfound modernity, fortunes changed in an instant at the racetrack or over the card table and nearly as often in the halls of power. Nineteenth-century literature, art, and music likewise embraced a multiplicity of styles with each successive movement playing on and with the conventions of those that preceded it.

Discover the "The Biggest Little City in the World"

Reno has long been associated with play owing to its famous casinos. Its readily accessible wedding chapels and history as a twentieth-century divorce haven also contribute to the city’s reputation as a destination for fun and games of one kind or another. Alongside its many other entertainments, Reno’s mountainous, high desert terrain - punctuated by stunning glacial lakes including Lake Tahoe - is a natural playground for outdoor adventure seekers. Even today, the echoes of nineteenth-century boomtowns resound, and the city’s connection to the so-called Wild West endures.