Bio
My first book, The Ethnographic Optic: Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and the Turn Inward in 1960s French Cinema is in production and will be published by Indiana University Press in Spring 2024. The Ethnographic Optic takes a provocative approach to 1960s French cinema, reframing canonical fictions and documentaries in relation to the evolution of visual ethnography in the twilight of French colonialism. It highlights the shift in the work of three notable filmmakers—Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, and Alain Resnais—from a sophisticated engagement with otherness to a self-aware ethnographic focus on urban France. At a broader level, the book underlines the historical, formal, and thematic significance of French colonial, visual ethnography in 1960s French films produced in this period, as well as their New Wave and cinéma vérité contexts. This project has been awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship to France.
I have 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). Other writing and translations have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Romanic Review, and KinoKultura.
I am developing two new research projects. The first reframes the origins of Francophone sub-Saharan African cinema through an archival contextualization of two key films of the 1950s. The second examines the post-World War II intersections of the domestic French ethnographic tradition, French cinema, and television. This project has been awarded a Fall 2023 fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study Aix-Marseille (Iméra), with research residency at the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (Mucem).
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).
Professional Links
Professional Memberships
American Comparative Literature Association 2022 - PresentSociety for Cinema and Media Studies 2015 - PresentPhi Beta Kappa Society 2008 - PresentPhi Beta Kappa Society 2008 - PresentAwards and Honors
2023, Institute for Advanced Study at Aix-Marseille (Iméra) Fellowship, Iméra and Mucem2022, Bentley Research Council Grant, Bentley Research Council2022, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University2022, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University2021, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University2020, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University2020, Fulbright Research Fellowship - France (U.S. Scholar Core Program), The Fulbright Scholar Program2019, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University2019, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University2018, Faculty Summer Research Grant, Bentley University2017, Dean's Fund for International Travel Grant, Bentley University2017, Faculty Affairs Committee Grant, Bentley University2016, Phi Beta Kappa Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship in French Studies, Phi Beta Kappa Society2015, Mellon Humanities International Travel Award (Fall), Columbia University2015, Mellon Humanities International Travel Award (Spring), Columbia University2014, École normale supérieure (rue d’Ulm) Exchange Fellowship, École normale supérieure and Columbia University2012, Jeanne Varney Pleasants Prize for Excellence in French Language Pedagogy, The Lois Roth Endowment and Columbia University2012, Phi Beta Kappa Walter J. Jensen Fellowship, Phi Beta Kappa Society2010, Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education2009, Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education2008, Phi Beta Kappa Society Membership, Phi Beta Kappa SocietyPublications
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 Forthcoming.
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. (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 ColloquiumAstourian, 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
Committee Member for Research and Impact Working Group, Modern Languages and English and Media Studies 2022 - 2022Examiner for DFP French for Business Exam 2021 - 2022Organizer and Host for Modern Languages Award Ceremony 2020 - 2022Coordinator, French minor 2019 - 2022Mentor (Faculty) for Academic Advising Session - 2021Mentor (Faculty) for Accepted Students Day - 2021Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2021Committee Member for French Placement Test Review - 2020Search Committee, Assistant Professor of French 2019 - 2020Mentor (Faculty) for Study Abroad Fair - 2019Mentor (Faculty) for Undergraduate Academic Programs Fair - 2019Committee Member for Modern Languages Website - 2019Organizer, French Club 2019 - 2019Department representative, Fall Open House - 2018University Service
Senator for Faculty Senate 2022 - PresentCommittee Member for Nominations Committee 2022 - PresentCommittee Member for Shuttle Advisory Committee 2022 - PresentCommittee Member for Faculty Activity Reporting Platform Review Committee 2022 - PresentValente Center for Arts and Sciences Advisory Board 2018 - PresentCommittee Member for International Film Series 2018 - PresentMentor (Faculty) for Academic Programs Fair - 2022Mentor (Faculty) for Fall Open House - 2022Other for Remote Learning Task Force Focus Group - 2022Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2022Program Organizer for Should the Wind Drop Screening and Discussion with Producer and Director - 2022Mentor (Faculty) for Admitted Students Day - 2022Committee Member for Communication Sequence Design Committee - 2021Program Organizer for "Seismic Histories in Nadia Owusu's AFTERSHOCKS" - 2021Honors Program Faculty Council 2018 - 2021Moderator for Undergraduate Research Day - 2021Instructor, First-year Seminar 2019 - 2020Conference/Workshop Organizer for (Au) Revoir Varda: Panel Honoring the Work of French Filmmaker Agnès Varda - 2019Committee Member for Toni Morrison Event - 2019Selected Presenter on Teaching Innovation, Bentley Teaching Colloquium - 2019Moderator, Undergraduate Research Colloquium - 2019Organizer, Study Abroad in France Workshop - 2019Guest speaker, International Film Series - 2018Guest speaker, History Department Conference - 2017Professional Service
Co-chair for Documentary Studies Special Interest Group, Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2023 - PresentAdvisory Board Member for Boston Cinema/Media Seminar 2023 - PresentReviewer, Journal Article for Peer Reviewer 2019 - PresentPanel co-organizer, "Two Shots and a Document: Experiments in the Historiography of French Cinema" for Society for Cinema and Media Studies - 2023Panel organizer "Exotic x Endotic: Filming Metropolitan France in the '60s and Beyond" for Colloquium on 20th-21st c. French/Francophone Studies - 2018Invited jury member, Programme euro-américain Selection Committee for Sciences Po - Boston, MA - 2018Panel organizer "Chris Marker and the Foreign" for Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference - 2018Invited jury member, Programme euro-américain Selection Committee for Sciences Po - San Francisco, CA - 2017
