A Special Evening at the Alliance Française de Philadelphie

One of the great joys of my Stephen Girard research in recent years has been returning to the study of the French language, which was entirely made possible by the Alliance Française de Philadelphie. I thought I would take one or two classes back in 2022, just to brush up on my elementary skills, but now I'm hooked, and I'm on my twelfth course! Fittingly, I will discuss Stephen Girard and his world at the Alliance Française on Friday, March 27th at 6:00 PM. Learn more about the program and register here: https://www.afphila.com/event-rsvp/book-signing-event-alexander-ames-stephen-girard-portrait-of-a-citizen/. 

The presentation is titled "Portrait of a Citizen: Encountering the Francophone World of Stephen Girard and His Circle, in Philadelphia and Beyond." The famous merchant Stephen Girard left his home near Bordeaux, France at a young age, never again to live in his native country. He eventually became a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the new United States of America. Yet the businessman’s French language and cultural identity remained important facets of his personality, and elements of his social and intellectual life. In celebration of La Mois de Francophonie 2026, this illustrated talk will explore how Stephen Girard emerged as a committed citizen of the new United States of America while maintaining aspects of French language and cultural identity in early national Philadelphia.
Beyond Girard himself, the talk will showcase other examples of French language, literature, and culture present in the Mid Atlantic region and beyond, including in the libraries and archives of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Thomas Jefferson, which provide salient comparative examples to Girard’s cultural interests. We will also explore how Girard’s upbringing and economic roots in the French imperial Atlantic world of the eighteenth century may have influenced his views of race, labor, enslavement, gender, sexuality, and family relationships.

The talk will be presented in English. Participants will receive reproductions of exemplar historic French-language documents from regional collections to review.