Ephemeral Shrines: Four Angles for Studying the Archives of the Paris Bombings
Résumé
This joint paper briefly presents research directions for a collective undertaking to examine the documents and testimonies assembled on the sites of the Paris terror attacks of November 13, 2015. This approach is guided by the conviction that these documents, including the testimonies recorded and provided for public access at the borough hall of Paris’ eleventh district in the weeks following the attacks, merit the attention of literary scholars, not only because they are resources for making sense of the phenomenon of terror and the mentality of our times, but also because they constitute poetically composed objects. This article summarizes the approaches adopted by four researchers who have been examining these documents in terms of conflictualities (Martin Mégevand), places (Xavier Garnier), rhythm (Elara Bertho), and ambivalence (Aline Marchand).