Prix du rayonnement des lettres à l'étranger

Dr Susan Bainbrigge, senior lecturer in French in the Division of European Languages and Cultures, was the 2011 recipient of the ‘Prix du rayonnment des lettres belges à l’étranger’, awarded by the Belgian Ministry for Culture (Communauté française).

On Tuesday, 18th May 2011, at a ceremony held in Brussels, the Minister for Culture, Mme Fadila Lanaan presented her with the prize of 4000 euros, commemorated by a certificate.

The prize is awarded annually by a jury from the Service de la Promotion du Livre, presided by M. Jean-Luc Outers. Susie received the award in recognition of her research and teaching in the field of Belgian literature and culture, and involvement in the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges, housed within French and Francophone Studies of DELC at the University of Edinburgh.

Her contribution has included the publication of books and articles, conference and seminar organisation, the teaching of Belgian texts at undergraduate and Masters level, and the organisation of related activities with other partner institutions including the Edinburgh Filmhouse and the Institut Français d’Écosse.

An exhibition, entitled ‘Bulles, Jazz, Blues’, took place at the Institut Français d’Écosse in July 2011. It was devoted to jazz and the comic strip (‘la bande dessinée’, for which Belgium is world renowned), created in collaboration with Wallonie-Bruxelles International, and the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges.