Introduction: Paul Ricoeur's Question

When I arrived in Paris in 1977 to study with the philosopher, Paul Ricoeur, the first question he asked everyone in his seminar was: d'où parlez-vous? Where do you speak from?From where do you speak? Without a final or fixed reply, this fundamental question occupies a central place in Paul Ricoeur's expansive work. It is perhaps one of his more important commonplaces. D'où parlez-vous? The question is a reminder, a provocation to remember that speaking is located—it takes place in a place, and helps to establish and transform that place—and that speaking also incurs responsibility for this power.In May 2018 the meeting of the Society for Ricoeur Studies took place for the first time on the African continent....