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7:00 PM-8:30 PM, EST

Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Book Presentation & Discussion, Author Q&A |Exclusive Book Talk with Andrew S. Curran

  • Alliance Française de Washington, DC, Washington, DC

  • English
  • $12.51 (AFDC Members) / $17.85 (Non-Members)
  • Part of series: The Art of Freedom
Register here (Eventbrite)

Wide event graphic in The Art of Freedom for Biography of a Dangerous Idea © Alliance Française de Washington D.C.

Wide event graphic in The Art of Freedom for Biography of a Dangerous Idea © Alliance Française de Washington D.C.

About the Event

  • This event is part of our America at 250 Project, with EUNIC: The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America
  • This event is reserved for adults aged 21+ and over
  • This event will be in English at the Alliance Française of Washington, DC (2142 Wyoming Ave NW)
Don't miss this opportunity to engage with Andrew S. Curran, one of today's leading historians, whose work explores the intersection of French history, Enlightenment studies, intellectual history, biography, and contemporary discussions of race and identity, as he shares his new book, Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson.

This event, part of the ongoing America at 250 Project, will be in collaboration with European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) in celebration of The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America. More information can be found here: The Art of Freedom - EUNIC.

About The Book

In this compelling work, Curran traces the origins and evolution of the modern concept of race, revealing how ideas developed during the Enlightenment continue to shape our world today. Through meticulous historical research and engaging storytelling, Biography of a Dangerous Idea examines the intellectual, political, and cultural forces that transformed race into one of history's most powerful and enduring ideas.

About the Author

Andrew S. Curran is a writer and scholar of the eighteenth century whose work explores the intersections of race, science, and Enlightenment thought. His essays and commentary have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek, Time Magazine, The Paris Review, El País, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author or editor of five books and is widely recognized for bringing complex historical questions to a broad public audience.

His previous book, Who's Black and Why?, co-edited with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and received the 2023 Association of American Publishers Award for the best book in European History. His acclaimed biography Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely was translated into multiple languages and was named one of the best biographies of 2019 by numerous international publications.

Curran is a Fellow in the History of Medicine at the New York Academy of Medicine, a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities at Wesleyan University.

Learn more about Andrew S. Curran on his website: www.andrewscurran.com.

Following the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the author.

For all inquiries concerning this event please email: culture@francedc.org

The Art of Freedom (TAoF)

The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America is a year-long platform for cultural relations developed by the EUNIC cluster in Washington, DC, of which Goethe-Institut Washington is a proud member. Bringing together European and American artists, thinkers, students, and communities, the program explores freedom of expression through artistic collaboration and dialogue. Through participatory experiences and cross-disciplinary exchange, it encourages mutual learning and people-to-people connections across the Atlantic. By linking European cultural perspectives with local partners in the United States, The Art of Freedom creates inclusive spaces where creativity inspires reflection,strengthens democratic dialogue, and invites audiences to actively engage with the values that shape open societies.

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