Sophie Basch - Biography#

Sophie Basch started her career as a curator at the Royal Library of Belgium, before being appointed professor at the Universities of Mulhouse, Poitiers, and finally the Sorbonne. Her delegation as a junior member of the Institut universitaire de France (IUF) (2003-2008), with a project on the Eastern Mediterranean, allowed her to establish strong long-term partnerships with major research institutions in Greece, Egypt and Turkey. Her contacts also extend to Central Asia, China and Japan.

The interdisciplinary and comparative approach that already characterised Basch's PhD thesis on philhellenism has diversified. She continues to pay extreme attention to the contextualisation of works and to material culture. She alternates critical editions of major authors and thematic essays. Topics covered are varied, from archaeology to Orientalism, including the performing arts and fin-de-siècle culture. She is currently senior member of the Institut universitaire de France (IUF) (2020-) with a project on Japonisme.

Sophie Basch's research and teaching envisage the conjunction of literature and the arts. Her essay Les “demoiselles d'Avignon” from Schliemann to Picasso, has recently been published by the Royal Academy of Belgium. Following her book on Proust and the decorative arts (2014), encouraged by several invitations by Japanese universities, Sophie Basch developed a particular interest in the relations between Japonisme and Art Nouveau that has renewed her approach to literary and artistic Orientalism. Her partnership with museums was further strengthened by contributions to major exhibitions.

Sophie Basch's current project as a Senior Member of the Institut universitaire de France, entitled "Re-envisioning Japonisme: new chronologies, new issues", is transversal and multidisciplinary. Japonisme, a major cultural transfer that constitutes one of the keys to Western modernity, can no longer be considered an isolated phenomenon: in order to identify its singularity, it is essential to situate it in a comparative perspective.