Laure Astourian

  • Associate Professor, Modern Languages
  • Ph.D. Columbia University
  • M.Phil. Columbia University
  • M.A. Columbia University
  • B.A. University of California, Berkeley

Teaching Interests

French and Francophone cinema and television; 1950s-1960s French cinema; French cinema and anthropology; documentary cinema; international cinema; contemporary France; multilingual France; writing; twentieth-century French literature; French conversation; study abroad

Research Interests

French and Francophone cinema and television; the French New Wave; 1950s and 1960s sub-Saharan African cinema; cinéma vérité; 1950s-1960s films of Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, Jean Rouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda; French ethnographic cinema; multilingualism in metropolitan France; intersections of fiction and documentary; intersections of cinema and anthropology

Bio

I'm a scholar of French and Francophone cinema with interests in film and media history, cultural history, and the intersections of anthropology and cinema.

I hold a Ph.D. in French from Columbia University (2016) and a dual B.A. in French and Film Studies from UC Berkeley (High Honors, 2008).

My book, The Ethnographic Optic: Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and the Turn Inward in 1960s French Cinema, was published by Indiana University Press in June 2024. The Ethnographic Optic explores the significant ties between colonial ethnography and innovative works of 1960s French cinema. It probes the emergence of a self-aware urban French ethnography in both fictional and documentary films during the era of decolonization and offers fresh readings of canonical films including Moi, un Noir (Jean Rouch, 1958), La jetée (Chris Marker, 1962), and Muriel ou le Temps d’un retour (Alain Resnais, 1963). This project has been awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship to France.

I have also published scholarly articles in Studies in French Cinema and in the edited collection Dans le sillage de Jean Rouch (Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme). My other writing and translations have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Romanic Review, and KinoKultura.

Professional Links

Professional Memberships

  • American Comparative Literature Association 2022 - Present
  • Modern Language Association 2016 - Present
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2015 - Present
  • The Phi Beta Kappa Society 2008 - Present
  • Awards and Honors

  • 2024, Innovation in Teaching Award, Bentley University
  • 2024, Bentley Research Council Grant, Bentley Research Council
  • 2023, Institute for Advanced Study at Aix-Marseille (Iméra) Fellowship, Iméra and Mucem
  • 2022, Bentley Research Council Grant, Bentley Research Council
  • 2022, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University
  • 2022, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University
  • 2021, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University
  • 2020, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University
  • 2020, Fulbright Research Fellowship - France (U.S. Scholar Core Program), The Fulbright Scholar Program
  • 2019, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University
  • 2019, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University
  • 2018, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University
  • 2017, Dean's Fund for International Travel Grant, Bentley University
  • 2017, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University
  • 2016, Phi Beta Kappa Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship in French Studies, Phi Beta Kappa Society
  • 2015, Mellon Humanities International Travel Award (Fall), Columbia University
  • 2015, Mellon Humanities International Travel Award (Spring), Columbia University
  • 2014, École normale supérieure (rue d’Ulm) Exchange Fellowship, École normale supérieure and Columbia University
  • 2012, Jeanne Varney Pleasants Prize for Excellence in French Language Pedagogy, The Lois Roth Endowment and Columbia University
  • 2012, Phi Beta Kappa Walter J. Jensen Fellowship, Phi Beta Kappa Society
  • 2010, Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education
  • 2009, Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education
  • 2008, Phi Beta Kappa Society Membership, Phi Beta Kappa Society
  • Publications

    Journal Articles


  • Astourian, L. (2017). Jean Rouch's Moi, un Noir in the French New Wave . Studies in French Cinema, (17) 2 pp. n. pag.. (Link)

    Books


  • Astourian, L. (2024). The Ethnographic Optic: Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and the Turn Inward in 1960s French Cinema. Indiana University Press (Link)

  • Book Chapters


  • Astourian, L. (2018). « Moi, un Blanc » : de la genèse d’A bout de souffle In , (Eds.) Dans le sillage de Jean Rouch. Editions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme

  • Book Reviews


  • Astourian, L. (2020). [Review of the book L'aventure du réel ]. Fiction and Film for Scholars of France. (Link)
  • Astourian, L. (2018). [Review of the book Éric Rohmer: A Biography ]. H-France Review, (18) 134 (Link)

  • Other(s)


  • Astourian, L. (2021). Cinema as Airport: On Nora Martirosyan's SHOULD THE WIND DROP The Los Angeles Review of Books. (Link)
  • Astourian, L. (2020). Philosophically Paradjanov (Translation) KinoKultura. 70 (Link)
  • Astourian, L. (2015). Interview with Henry Rousso (Translation) Romanic Review, (105) 1-2 91-96.
  • Astourian, L. (2015). Interview with Laurent Binet (Translation) Romanic Review, (105) 1-2 87-90.
  • Presentations

  • Astourian, L. (2025). “Invited lecture: The Ethnographic Optic Book Presentation” Presented at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, CA
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Invited lecture - The Ethnographic Optic: Reframing 1960s French Cinema” Presented at the University of Toronto Cinema Studies Institute Toronto, Canada
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Invited lecture - The Ethnographic Optic in 1960s French Cinema” Presented at the Columbia University Maison Française New York, NY
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Karmitz, Duras, Beckett: Nuit noire Calcutta (1964) et Comédie (1966)” Presented at the École normale supérieure, Collège de France Colloque Marin Karmitz Paris, France
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “The Ethnographic Optic in 1960s French Cinema” Presented at the Boston Cinema/Media Seminar Waltham, MA
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Entwining Cinema, Television, and Domestic Ethnography in Mid-Twentieth Century France” Presented at the Colloquium for 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone Studies Philadelphia, PA
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Masterclass de Laure Astourian sur Moi, un Noir de Jean Rouch” Presented at the Aix-Marseille Université, Iméra, EHESS, Mucem Marseille, France
  • Astourian, L. (2024). “Behind the Scenes: Evolving Research on Jean Rouch, From Dissertation to Book (2013-2023)” Presented at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales Encounters with Social Scientists Seminar, EHESS Marseille, France
  • Astourian, L. (2023). “Niger Here and There: Afrique-sur-Seine, Moi, un Noir, and the Laval Decree” Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Denver, CO
  • Astourian, L. (2022). “Multilingualism, Cinema, and French Diplomacy” Presented at the Bentley University Bentley Research Colloquium
  • Astourian, L. (2022). “Rendez-vous de juillet in the Rearview: Tracking Post-War French Cinema's Ethnographic Appetite” Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Chicago, IL (virtual)
  • Astourian, L. (2021). “Paris Reframed: 1960s French Cinema at the End of Empire” Presented at the American University of Armenia Yerevan, Armenia
  • Astourian, L. (2021). “Tirez sur le pianiste/Կրակեցէ՛ք Դաշնակահարին վրայ ” Presented at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies Yerevan, Armenia
  • Astourian, L. (2021). “A Fresh Look at 1960s French Cinema” Presented at the Franco-American Commission, Fulbright Foundation Paris, France
  • Astourian, L. (2021). “Invited lecture - Moi, un Noir : l’ethnographie française presque libérée” Presented at the "Racial Imaginaries" Graduate Seminar, Department of French and Italian, Princeton University Princeton, NJ
  • Astourian, L. (2021). Presented at the Francophonie Webinar Series, "Paris Pictures, Beyond the Cliché," with Catherine Clark (MIT), Consulate General of France Boston, MA
  • Astourian, L. (2019). “Invited international lecture - Alain Resnais From Statues to Muriel” Presented at the Cinema Studies Institute, The University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Astourian, L. (2019). “Cléo, From Object to Subject ” Presented at the Bentley University (Au) Revoir Varda Bentley University
  • Astourian, L. (2019). “The Soldier as Cinematograph: Archives of Algeria in Muriel ou Le temps d'un retour” Presented at the Visible Evidence XXVI Conference Los Angeles, CA
  • Astourian, L. (2019). “Ethnography and National Identity in 1960s French Cinema” Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference Seattle, WA
  • Astourian, L. (2018). “Jean Rouch's Paris Films: From Chronique d'un été to Petit à petit” Presented at the Brown University International Colloquium on Twentieth and Twenty-First Century French and Francophone Studies Providence, Rhode Island
  • Astourian, L. (2018). “Sunday in Peking...and Paris” Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Astourian, L. (2018). “Invited speaker - Introduction of Moi, un Noir and Panel on French New Wave Cinema” Presented at the Yale University Whitney Humanities Center 14th Annual European Film Conference New Haven, CT
  • Astourian, L. (2018). “Youth as Witnesses: Resisting the Rhetoric of War in Contemporary France” Presented at the Modern Language Association Modern Language Association Annual Convention New York, New York
  • Astourian, L. (2017). “Invited lecture - Jean Rouch's Moi un Noir in the French New Wave” Presented at the Princeton University Department of French and Italian Princeton, New Jersey
  • Astourian, L. (2017). “Narrowing Visions of Paris in Marker's La Jetée and Le Joli mai” Presented at the Indiana University Bloomington International Colloquium on Twentieth and Twenty-First Century French and Francophone Studies Bloomington, Indiana
  • Astourian, L. (2017). “The French New Wave and Sub-Saharan Africa” Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference Chicago, Illinois
  • Astourian, L. (2016). “Invited lecture - Migration and Immigration in Mid-Century French Ethnography” Presented at the Columbia University French Department Modern Francophone Colloquium New York, New York
  • Astourian, L. (2016). “Guest lecture - Alternatives to the Auteur” Presented at the Columbia University Film and Media Studies Program Pro-seminar on film history (Prof. Jane Gaines) New York, New York
  • Astourian, L. (2015). “Aesthetics of the Taboo: Alain Resnais and the Algerian War” Presented at the Duke University The Resnais Archipelago Conference Durham, North Carolina
  • Astourian, L. (2015). “Jean Rouch, Ethnography, and the Nouvelle Vague” Presented at the Northeast Modern Language Association Northeast Modern Language Association Convention Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Service

    Department Service


  • Task Force Member for Course Observations (Dalsant, Yu, and Bui-Lally) 2023 - Present
  • Coordinator, French minor 2019 - Present
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2024
  • Committee Member for Research and Impact Working Group, Modern Languages and English and Media Studies 2022 - 2022
  • Examiner for DFP French for Business Exam 2021 - 2022
  • Organizer and Host for Modern Languages Award Ceremony 2020 - 2022
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Academic Advising Session - 2021
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Accepted Students Day - 2021
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2021
  • Committee Member for French Placement Test Review - 2020
  • Search Committee, Assistant Professor of French 2019 - 2020
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Study Abroad Fair - 2019
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Undergraduate Academic Programs Fair - 2019
  • Committee Member for Modern Languages Website - 2019
  • Organizer, French Club 2019 - 2019
  • Department representative, Fall Open House - 2018
  • University Service


  • Committee Member for Bentley Research Council 2023 - Present
  • Program Organizer for Inaugural Study Abroad May Intensive to Paris 2023 - Present
  • Senator for Faculty Senate 2022 - Present
  • Committee Member for Nominations Committee 2022 - Present
  • Committee Member for Shuttle Advisory Committee 2022 - Present
  • Valente Center for Arts and Sciences Advisory Board 2018 - Present
  • Committee Member for International Film Series 2018 - Present
  • Committee Member for Faculty Activity Reporting Platform Review Committee 2022 - 2023
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Academic Programs Fair - 2022
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Fall Open House - 2022
  • Other for Remote Learning Task Force Focus Group - 2022
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2022
  • Program Organizer for Should the Wind Drop Screening and Discussion with Producer and Director - 2022
  • Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2022
  • Committee Member for Communication Sequence Design Committee - 2021
  • Program Organizer for "Seismic Histories in Nadia Owusu's AFTERSHOCKS" - 2021
  • Honors Program Faculty Council 2018 - 2021
  • Moderator for Undergraduate Research Day - 2021
  • Instructor, First-year Seminar 2019 - 2020
  • Conference/Workshop Organizer for (Au) Revoir Varda: Panel Honoring the Work of French Filmmaker Agnès Varda - 2019
  • Committee Member for Toni Morrison Event - 2019
  • Selected Presenter on Teaching Innovation, Bentley Teaching Colloquium - 2019
  • Moderator, Undergraduate Research Colloquium - 2019
  • Organizer, Study Abroad in France Workshop - 2019
  • Guest speaker, International Film Series - 2018
  • Guest speaker, History Department Conference - 2017
  • Professional Service


  • Co-chair for Documentary Studies Scholarly Interest Group, Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2023 - Present
  • Advisory Board Member for Boston Cinema/Media Seminar 2023 - Present
  • Reviewer, Journal Article for French Cultural Studies 2019 - Present
  • Committee Member for Festival Jean Rouch "Hors les murs" (Mucem) - 2024
  • Chair for Society for Cinema and Media Studies Panel - 2024
  • Committee Member for SCMS Jonathan Kahana Graduate Student Writing Award - 2024
  • Panel co-organizer, "Two Shots and a Document: Experiments in the Historiography of French Cinema" for Society for Cinema and Media Studies - 2023
  • Panel organizer "Exotic x Endotic: Filming Metropolitan France in the '60s and Beyond" for Colloquium on 20th-21st c. French/Francophone Studies - 2018
  • Invited jury member, Programme euro-américain Selection Committee for Sciences Po - Boston, MA - 2018
  • Panel organizer "Chris Marker and the Foreign" for Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference - 2018
  • Invited jury member, Programme euro-américain Selection Committee for Sciences Po - San Francisco, CA - 2017