50 years on from the Paris student protests and workers’ strikes of May 1968, the Paris School of Arts and Culture is hosting its third annual conference to commemorate these events, and to consider moments of revolution and resistance throughout history.

The University of Kent in Paris is housed at Reid Hall in Montparnasse, a stone’s throw away from the Latin Quarter, which was the epicentre of the 1968 protests. In the 1890s, Reid Hall was taken over by Elizabeth Mills Reid: the site interested Reid as a space for intellectuals and creatives inspired by the lively culture of the Left Bank. After 1892, the site was used to house American women studying in Paris and hosted guest speakers such as Gertrude Stein and Simone de Beauvoir, both revolutionary in their respective fields. Following the outbreak of war in 1914, the building was used as a hospital for French and American officers, before returning to its academic and artistic roots. Reid Hall has played its part in Paris’ countless narratives of resistance and innovation throughout history, which arguably persist today.

2018 not only marks the 50-year anniversary of the May '68 events, but it is also the centenary of women’s suffrage in the U.K. The 21st century has also been a period of rapid change. With the expansion of the internet and social media platforms, recent movements such as #metoo and Black Lives Matter have a global outreach and has created communities around the world. We are arguably living in a revolutionary moment.