Brandon University’s Dr. Eftihia Mihelakis will celebrate the publication of her new book with a public reception and conversation on Thursday evening, March 1.

During the evening event, Dr. Mihelakis, an Assistant Professor in the Department of French and Languages and the Gender & Women’s Studies Program at BU, will discuss her work in conversation with Dr. Claudia Bouliane, with a question and answer session to follow. A collegial wine and cheese will also be served to all attendees.

Her recently published book is titled La Virginité en question, ou les jeunes filles sans âge, which translates as “The question of virginity, or the power of ageless girls”. At a moment when many thinkers announce a crisis of adolescence’s global rites of passage, this work reflects on the Western discourse on virginity as it is approached by medicine, law, literature and mythology. In the book, Dr. Mihelakis discusses the familiar faces of the angelic victim, the sacred virgin, the viral sisters and ponders on the still unexplored image of the female kamikaze, thus asking the ultimate question: Can literature save virgins from a morbid and sacrificial destiny?

Although the book is published in French, the discussion and reception will all be in English. Copies of the book will be available at the event.