ITHACA, N.Y. -- Lionel Jospin, former prime minister of France (1997--2002), will deliver the keynote address for a three-day conference at Cornell University titled "Critical Anatomy of the New American Empire," co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Economy and Society (CSES) and the Society for the Humanities at Cornell (SHC).

The conference runs Thursday, April 8, through Saturday, April 10. Jospin's talk, titled "The United States: Empire or Super Nation-State?" will be Thursday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. in 200 Baker Hall. The talk and all conference events are free and open to the public.

"A conference addressing the 'new imperialism' could have no better keynote speaker than Lionel Jospin," said Dominick LaCapra, the Bowmar Professor of History and Comparative Literature at Cornell and Jospin's faculty host. "Jospin represents a rare combination of political acumen and provocative thought. And recent disagreements between the United States and France make it all the more imperative to listen attentively to someone like Jospin, who seeks informed critical analysis and intelligent debate."

Jospin studied at the elite Ecole Nationale d'Administration (1961--65) and worked (1965--70) in the foreign ministry. He joined the Socialist party (1971), taught college economics (1970--88) and was elected to the National Assembly in 1981. That year marked the election of Francois Mitterrand as president, and he appointed Jospin Socialist party leader (1981--88). After Mitterrand's reelection (1988), Jospin was named minister of education. In 1995 he ran unsuccessfully for president, narrowly losing to Jacques Chirac; that same year he again became Socialist party leader. Expected to challenge Chirac for the presidency in the final round of the 2002 elections, Jospin placed third behind Jean-Marie Le Pen, head of the right-wing, anti-immigrant National Front party, in the first round and subsequently resigned as premier.

Friday and Saturday sessions of the Critical Anatomy of the New American Empire conference at Cornell will take place in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall. For a complete list of events, visit the SHC web site http://www.arts.cornell.edu/sochum/ .