Over the past decade, many debates have examined the dual nature of galanterie, as the term is now understood within French early modern studies: on the one hand, its valorization of women from an egalitarian perspective; on the other, its paradoxical function as an instrument of masculine domination. In many respects, this ambivalence also informs the erotic discourses and representations produced in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, in France as well as in other European contexts. This period saw the expansion and increasing segmentation of the markets for cultural goods (books, prints, paintings, images, music), a development observable across Europe—despite local specificities—and shaped in part by galant culture. Eroticism is no exception: positioned between galanterie and the cultural market, it simultaneously becomes a commodity, a language, and a space for experimenting with representations of desire, gender relations, and social norms.

The conference aims to investigate the emergence of this new market for erotic works (printed and manuscript texts, music, painting, decorative arts), which takes shape within—or alongside—the development of galant culture. It seeks to examine the economy of cultural goods from a European perspective, as well as the evolving representations throughout the long seventeenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the rise of a new kind of erotic market in 1650s France—one that reconfigures and challenges the “satirical” and bawdy forms that had prevailed earlier in the century. Far from being reducible to merely subversive or transgressive gestures, erotic publications were reshaped into an “art of writing” addressed to a readership attuned to more women-centred values. This abundant production, disseminated in an unprecedented variety of genres (novellas, novels, tales, theatre, etc.), renewed conceptions of gender relations: it seemingly emphasized equality and mutual pleasure, privileged playful and harmonious forms of sexual interaction, and foregrounded consent.

Proposals of approximately 350–500 words, accompanied by a current CV, should be sent by 15 July 2026 to the following address : colloque_erosgalant2027@googlegroups.com. Proposals may be written in either English or French.