On Sunday, December 10, 2023, Bard College hosted a virtual session titled “Conversation: On France, Niger, Uranium, and Nuclear Power,” featuring filmmaker Idrissou Mora-Kpai and historian Carina Ray.
Mora-Kpai, a Guggenheim Fellow for Film & Video and the Okwui Enwezor Fellow at The Africa Institute in Sharjah, UAE, is known for his work spotlighting underrepresented narratives through film. Ray, the A.M. and H.P. Bentley Chair in African History and Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, is a scholar of African and diaspora history. She also co-convened The Africa Institute’s second country-focused program, Global Ghana (2021–2022).
The conversation was moderated by Professor Tabetha Ewing, Associate Professor of History at Bard, and focused on the history and politics of France–Niger relations, particularly in relation to uranium mining and nuclear power. Mora-Kpai and Ray discussed his documentary film, Arlit: Deuxième Paris, which explores the environmental and social impacts of uranium extraction in the Sahara Desert of Niger, a former French colony. The film, released in 2005, depicts the lives of the inhabitants of Arlit, a mining town that was once a prosperous and cosmopolitan center but has since become a polluted and impoverished site of exploitation and resistance.
Mora-Kpai shared his personal and professional motivations for making the film, as well as the challenges and opportunities he faced in the process. He also spoke about his current and upcoming projects, including a documentary on the border town of Seme between Nigeria and Benin, and a feature drama on the African colonial soldiers who fought in the Indochina War.
The session was organized by several academic programs and centers at Bard, including the Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Human Rights and the Arts, the Dean of the College, the French Studies Program, the Historical Studies Program, the Human Rights Program, and the Science, Technology, and Society Program.
The event was well attended by students, faculty, and staff from Bard and other institutions, as well as members of the public. The audience engaged in a lively and insightful Q&A session, covering topics such as the recent coup d’état in Niger, the environmental and health consequences of uranium mining, the cultural and artistic expressions of the people of Arlit, and the ethical and political implications of nuclear power.
The session was recorded and is available for viewing on the Bard College website.
Mora-Kpai’s film, “Arlit: Deuxième Paris”, can be accessed on his personal website.
On Sunday, December 10, 2023, Bard College hosted a virtual session titled “Conversation: On France, Niger, Uranium, and Nuclear Power,” featuring filmmaker Idrissou Mora-Kpai and historian Carina Ray.
On Sunday, December 10, 2023, Bard College hosted a virtual session titled “Conversation: On France, Niger, Uranium, and Nuclear Power,” featuring filmmaker Idrissou Mora-Kpai and historian Carina Ray.
Mora-Kpai, a Guggenheim Fellow for Film & Video and the Okwui Enwezor Fellow at The Africa Institute in Sharjah, UAE, is known for his work spotlighting underrepresented narratives through film. Ray, the A.M. and H.P. Bentley Chair in African History and Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, is a scholar of African and diaspora history. She also co-convened The Africa Institute’s second country-focused program, Global Ghana (2021–2022).
The conversation was moderated by Professor Tabetha Ewing, Associate Professor of History at Bard, and focused on the history and politics of France–Niger relations, particularly in relation to uranium mining and nuclear power. Mora-Kpai and Ray discussed his documentary film, Arlit: Deuxième Paris, which explores the environmental and social impacts of uranium extraction in the Sahara Desert of Niger, a former French colony. The film, released in 2005, depicts the lives of the inhabitants of Arlit, a mining town that was once a prosperous and cosmopolitan center but has since become a polluted and impoverished site of exploitation and resistance.
Mora-Kpai shared his personal and professional motivations for making the film, as well as the challenges and opportunities he faced in the process. He also spoke about his current and upcoming projects, including a documentary on the border town of Seme between Nigeria and Benin, and a feature drama on the African colonial soldiers who fought in the Indochina War.
The session was organized by several academic programs and centers at Bard, including the Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Human Rights and the Arts, the Dean of the College, the French Studies Program, the Historical Studies Program, the Human Rights Program, and the Science, Technology, and Society Program.
The event was well attended by students, faculty, and staff from Bard and other institutions, as well as members of the public. The audience engaged in a lively and insightful Q&A session, covering topics such as the recent coup d’état in Niger, the environmental and health consequences of uranium mining, the cultural and artistic expressions of the people of Arlit, and the ethical and political implications of nuclear power.
The session was recorded and is available for viewing on the Bard College website.
Mora-Kpai’s film, “Arlit: Deuxième Paris”, can be accessed on his personal website.
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