Hélène Cixous - Professor, Career and Life
Hélène Cixous's Personal Details
Hélène Cixous is a Jewish-French-Algerian author, famous for her feminist literary works, and her research on several eminent writers
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | June 5, 1937 |
| Nationality | Algerian |
| Famous | Feminists, Writers, Poets, Essayists, Professor |
| Known as | Helene Cixous |
| Founder / Co-Founder |
|
| Birth Place | Oran |
| Gender | Female |
| Father | Georges Cixous |
| Mother | Eve Cixous |
| Sun Sign | Gemini |
| Born in | Oran |
| Famous as | Professor |
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Hélène Cixous's photo
Who is Hélène Cixous?
Hélène Cixous is a Jewish-French author from Algeria, who is known for her participation in the feminist movement of France. Having lost her father at a young age, the family had to go through the turmoil of alienation not just in Algeria, but also in Paris. Always interested in teaching, she got her teaching degree in English literature, and has worked for several prestigious universities in France. This accomplished writer’s works show heavy influences of the ideas and works of Irish-English author James Joyce, world-renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and her mentor Jacques Derrida. Initially, more general in style, this author’s writings became increasingly feminist towards the end of the 1960s. She got actively involved with the students’ revolution in France, and founded a university called ‘Paris VIII’. At the same university, this visionary writer introduced the first ever women’s studies PhD programme in the history of Europe. This writer has authored more than six collections of essays, twenty-three books of poetry, and several acclaimed articles and plays. The French writer has won innumerable accolades including the French order of merit, ‘Légion d’Honneur’, and the Brazilian award of the ‘Southern Cross’. Famous institutions across the world, such as ‘Georgetown University’ and ‘University of Wisconsin’, amongst several others, have conferred honorary doctorates upon this remarkable author.
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Childhood & Early Life
Hélène Cixous was born on June 5, 1937, to French physician Georges Cixous and his Austro-German wife Eve, in Oran, a city in the French colony of Algeria.
When Hélène was just eleven years old, Georges died of tuberculosis, which was ironically his topic of research. To fend for the family, which consisted of the little girl and her brother Pierre, Eve started working as a midwife in Algeria.
In 1955, she joined the ‘Lycée Lakanal’, a school in Paris, to prepare for her university entrance examinations. The next year, the young woman started preparing for her ‘agrégation’, which is a teacher’s eligibility examination in France.
Career
Cixous began teaching at a school in the French town of Arcachon, in 1959. The following year, she met Jean-Jacques Mayoux who helped the writer with her thesis on English writer James Joyce.
Two years later, in 1962, this talented author started working at the ‘University of Bordeaux’ as an assistant teacher. The same year, she made acquaintance with Jacques Derrida, a philosopher who too helped her learn more about writer Joyce.
Cixous travelled to the US in 1963, where she studied Joyce’s manuscripts, working along with psychoanalytical theoretician, Jacques Lacan. After two years of research on Joyce, she returned to France and was appointed as an assistant teacher at the ‘University of Sorbonne’.
In 1967, ‘Le Prénom du Dieu’ (‘God’s First Name’), Hélène’s first fictional work, was published. After the book’s success, this exceptional writer was appointed as a professor, without a PhD, at the ‘University of Nanterre’.
Edgar Faure, the Minister of Education in France, gave her the responsibility of starting ‘Paris VIII’, in 1968. This experimental university teaches unusual subjects like urban planning, psychoanalysis, geopolitics, and gender studies.
The same year, she started a journal titled ‘Poétique’, with the help of French scholars Tzvetan Todorov and Gérard Genette. She also released her thesis titled ‘L'Exil de James Joyce ou l'Art du remplacement’ (‘The Exile of James Joyce, or the Art of Displacement’) in 1968.
In 1969, she published her second book of fiction, ‘Dedans’ (‘Inside’), based on the death of her father.
The feminist author published a collection of essays called ‘Prénoms de personne’, in 1974. The book features works on famous psychoanalysts and writers like Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe and James Joyce.
In 1975, this brilliant writer authored the book ‘Portrait de Dora’ which received critical acclaim. Meant for the theatre, it was enacted successfully at the ‘Théâtre d’Orsay’, for almost a year.
During the same time, her writings became more and more feminist in their style, and ‘Le Rire de la Méduse’ (‘The Laugh of the Medusa’) was published.
During 1976-1979, she published works like ‘La Jeune Née’, ‘La Venue à l'écriture’, ‘Révolutions pour plus d'un Faust’, ‘Ananké’, and ‘Le Nom d'Oedipe. Chant du corps interdi’.
During the 1980s, the prolific writer wrote popular books like ‘With ou l'Art de l'innocence’, ‘Le Livre de Promethea’, ‘La Prise de l'école de Madhubaï’, and ‘L'Heure de Clarice Lispector’.
In the next decade, from 1990-1999, this amazing feminist published works like ‘Jours de l'an’, ‘Beethoven à jamais’, ‘ou l'éxistence de Dieu’, ‘Osnabrück’, ‘L'Histoire (qu'on ne connaîtra jamais’, ‘On ne part pas, on ne revient pas’, and ‘Photos de racines’.
In the 2000s, Hélène wrote books like ‘Tours promises', 'Double Oubli de l'Orang-Outang', 'Cigüe', 'Les Naufragés du Fol Espoi', and 'Le Voisin de zéro : Sam Beckett'. She also wrote the famous 'Portrait de Jacques Derrida en Jeune Saint Juif', which focuses on the works of her mentor, Jacques Derrida.
Major Works
Of all her feminism-centric works of fiction, theatre and essays, Hélène Cixous is most known for her book ‘Le Rire de la Méduse’, written in 1975. The book was translated from French to English the next year, by writers Keith Cohen and Paula Cohen for ‘Signs’, an American journal that focuses on feminism. The book employs the rhetoric of allusions to talk about feminism and the acceptance of bisexuality.
Awards and Achievements
Cixous was felicitated with the French literary award ‘Prix Médicis’, for her fictional work, ‘Dedans’, in 1969.
In 1989 Hélène was honoured with the ‘Southern Cross of Brazil’ for her extensive studies on the Russian-Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, and her works.
She was awarded the ‘Légion d’Honneur’, one of the highest French orders, in 1994, by the 21st President of France, François Mitterrand.
She has also been presented honorary doctorates by several esteemed institutions like ‘Queen’s University’, ‘Georgetown University’ in Washington D.C., ‘University of Wisconsin’ and ‘Northwestern University’, Chicago.
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1955, the Hélène got married to Guy Berger, who was a teacher of philosophy.
The couple had a daughter, Anne-Emmanuelle, in 1957, and a son, Stéphane, three years later. Stéphane died as an infant and the next year, another son, Pierre-François, was born.
The writer and her husband got divorced in 1964, after nine years of marriage.
In 2000, this writer gave away all her works to the 'Bibliothèque nationale de France', and this French library dedicated a section to her collection of manuscripts. The following year, the same collection of books was displayed at the 'Brouillons d'écrivains', a literary exhibition held at the library.
Trivia
This prolific writer, along with French modern thinkers, Julia Kristeva and Luce Irigaray, is known as one of the mothers of the famous ‘poststructuralist feminist theory’.
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Hélène Cixous biography timelines
- // 5th Jun 1937Hélène Cixous was born on June 5, 1937, to French physician Georges Cixous and his Austro-German wife Eve, in Oran, a city in the French colony of Algeria.
- // 1955In 1955, she joined the ‘Lycée Lakanal’, a school in Paris, to prepare for her university entrance examinations. The next year, the young woman started preparing for her ‘agrégation’, which is a teacher’s eligibility examination in France.
- // 1955In 1955, the Hélène got married to Guy Berger, who was a teacher of philosophy.
- // 1957The couple had a daughter, Anne-Emmanuelle, in 1957, and a son, Stéphane, three years later. Stéphane died as an infant and the next year, another son, Pierre-François, was born.
- // 1959Cixous began teaching at a school in the French town of Arcachon, in 1959. The following year, she met Jean-Jacques Mayoux who helped the writer with her thesis on English writer James Joyce.
- // 1962Two years later, in 1962, this talented author started working at the ‘University of Bordeaux’ as an assistant teacher. The same year, she made acquaintance with Jacques Derrida, a philosopher who too helped her learn more about writer Joyce.
- // 1963Cixous travelled to the US in 1963, where she studied Joyce’s manuscripts, working along with psychoanalytical theoretician, Jacques Lacan. After two years of research on Joyce, she returned to France and was appointed as an assistant teacher at the ‘University of Sorbonne’.
- // 1964The writer and her husband got divorced in 1964, after nine years of marriage.
- // 1967In 1967, ‘Le Prénom du Dieu’ (‘God’s First Name’), Hélène’s first fictional work, was published. After the book’s success, this exceptional writer was appointed as a professor, without a PhD, at the ‘University of Nanterre’.
- // 1968Edgar Faure, the Minister of Education in France, gave her the responsibility of starting ‘Paris VIII’, in 1968. This experimental university teaches unusual subjects like urban planning, psychoanalysis, geopolitics, and gender studies.
- // 1968The same year, she started a journal titled ‘Poétique’, with the help of French scholars Tzvetan Todorov and Gérard Genette. She also released her thesis titled ‘L'Exil de James Joyce ou l'Art du remplacement’ (‘The Exile of James Joyce, or the Art of Displacement’) in 1968.
- // 1969In 1969, she published her second book of fiction, ‘Dedans’ (‘Inside’), based on the death of her father.
- // 1969Cixous was felicitated with the French literary award ‘Prix Médicis’, for her fictional work, ‘Dedans’, in 1969.
- // 1974The feminist author published a collection of essays called ‘Prénoms de personne’, in 1974. The book features works on famous psychoanalysts and writers like Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe and James Joyce.
- // 1975In 1975, this brilliant writer authored the book ‘Portrait de Dora’ which received critical acclaim. Meant for the theatre, it was enacted successfully at the ‘Théâtre d’Orsay’, for almost a year.
- // 1975Of all her feminism-centric works of fiction, theatre and essays, Hélène Cixous is most known for her book ‘Le Rire de la Méduse’, written in 1975. The book was translated from French to English the next year, by writers Keith Cohen and Paula Cohen for ‘Signs’, an American journal that focuses on feminism. The book employs the rhetoric of allusions to talk about feminism and the acceptance of bisexuality.
- // 1976 To 1979During 1976-1979, she published works like ‘La Jeune Née’, ‘La Venue à l'écriture’, ‘Révolutions pour plus d'un Faust’, ‘Ananké’, and ‘Le Nom d'Oedipe. Chant du corps interdi’.
- // 1989In 1989 Hélène was honoured with the ‘Southern Cross of Brazil’ for her extensive studies on the Russian-Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, and her works.
- // 1990 To 1999In the next decade, from 1990-1999, this amazing feminist published works like ‘Jours de l'an’, ‘Beethoven à jamais’, ‘ou l'éxistence de Dieu’, ‘Osnabrück’, ‘L'Histoire (qu'on ne connaîtra jamais’, ‘On ne part pas, on ne revient pas’, and ‘Photos de racines’.
- // 1994She was awarded the ‘Légion d’Honneur’, one of the highest French orders, in 1994, by the 21st President of France, François Mitterrand.
- // 2000In 2000, this writer gave away all her works to the 'Bibliothèque nationale de France', and this French library dedicated a section to her collection of manuscripts. The following year, the same collection of books was displayed at the 'Brouillons d'écrivains', a literary exhibition held at the library.
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Hélène Cixous's FAQ
What is Hélène Cixous birthday?
Hélène Cixous was born at 1937-06-05
Where is Hélène Cixous's birth place?
Hélène Cixous was born in Oran
What is Hélène Cixous nationalities?
Hélène Cixous's nationalities is Algerian
Which company or organization was founded by Hélène Cixous?
Hélène Cixous was the founder/co-founder of Paris 8 University
Who is Hélène Cixous's father?
Hélène Cixous's father is Georges Cixous
Who is Hélène Cixous's mother?
Hélène Cixous's mother is Eve Cixous
What is Hélène Cixous's sun sign?
Hélène Cixous is Gemini
How famous is Hélène Cixous?
Hélène Cixous is famouse as Professor