Current and Recent Research Students
Mr Michael Shallcross
Biography
I began studying at Durham University in October 2010, researching a thesis on 'G.K. Chesterton and Parody' under the supervision of Dr. John Nash. My research is funded by a Durham University studentship. My thesis examines the parodic motifs permeating Chesterton's diverse output, with particular emphasis upon his detective fiction, but also with reference to his nonsense verse, journalism, novels, critical essays, and public performances.
I particularly focus upon the ways in which Chesterton’s use of parody enabled him to engage with the work of various figureheads of modernism — including Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, and Wyndham Lewis —whose aesthetic programmes he ostensibly opposed. On this basis, I argue that the simultaneous inscription of similarity and difference encoded within the parodic act makes it a particularly effective means of questioning compartmentalising approaches to genre and literary history.
In addition to my research I am currently co-convening an international conference - '"Efface the Traces!" Modernism and Influence' - which will take place between 9-11 April 2013, at Durham University. For more details, see http://effacethetraces.wordpress.com/
