STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Nov. 29 event sponsored by Mississippi State's Institute for the Humanities will feature a lecture by foreign languages professor Keith Moser on the work of 2008 Nobel Prize winner in literature, J.M.G. Le Clezio.
The 3 p.m. event and reception following, both in the John Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library, are free and open to the public. They are co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Mississippi Humanities Council.
Le Clezio was the keynote speaker in 2009 for a major MSU event organized by Moser, a LeClezio scholar and French section chair in the foreign languages department. It was the Nobel Laureate's first U.S. visit to a campus after receiving his 2008 honor.
Moser's topic for the Distinguished Speaker Series is "The De-centered Humanism and Cosmic Engagement of J.M.G. Le Clezio: Posing Questions in an Age of Suspicion."
Moser, who teaches courses in 20th century French literature, literary and cinematic representations of the Holocaust in French literature, medieval French literature, and the human condition, among others, is a rising Le Clezio scholar. After publishing his first book in 2008, titled "'Privileged Moments' in the Novels and Short Stories of J.M.G. Le Clezio," Moser published several essays in publications such as Romance Notes, Dalhousie French Studies, Les Cahiers Le Clezio, Modern Language Review, and Janus Head.
In addition, he served as an invited volunteer for the Foundation for Interculturality and Peace, co-founded by Le Clezio and Issa Asgarally, to help launch the humanitarian organization from the island nation of Mauritius in May 2010.
Moser holds bachelor's and master's degrees from East Tennessee State University and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee.
