School of Modern Languages & Cultures: Department of French
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Staff in the Department of French

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Dr Edward Welch, MA, MSt, DPhil Oxon

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 43450

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Biography

My principal area of research is twentieth-century French literature and culture. I have a particular interest in the radical socio-cultural changes affecting post-war France, as well as in the sociology of culture from a Bourdieusian perspective, which I have been pursuing in relation to three broad topics over the past few years: the work and career of François Mauriac; the Paris Metro and the representation of urban change in post-war France; and the Franco-Algerian relationship since the time of the Algerian War (1954-1962).

My research is also marked by a growing interest in photography and visual representation, something reflected in all three of these topics: the image plays a central role in Mauriac’s emergence as a major intellectual figure of the post-war period; issues of visual representation and iconography are at the heart of an on-going project on the Paris Metro and the representation of urban change in post-war France; and my work on France and Algeria has developed in the context of a three-year AHRC-funded project in collaboration with Dr Joe McGonagle (University of Manchester), which investigates the visual representation of the relationship between France and Algeria over the course of the post-war period. More details on the project can be found by following the link below. As part of the project, we are running a blog in which we discuss some of the questions and issues we are exploring. Finally, I am a regular contributor of articles, interviews and reviews to Source Photographic Review.

Research groups: Durham Centre for Advanced Photography Studies (DCAPS)

Primary research interests: the Paris metro and the representation of the urban condition; post-war French documentary photography and photojournalism; the work and career of François Mauriac; Bourdieu and the sociology of culture; the visual representation of the Franco-Algerian relationship in the post-war period.

Research Groups

  • Culture and Difference

Research Interests

  • C20 French Literature and Culture
  • Post-war French Documentary Photography
  • Representations of the urban world in literature and culture

Selected Publications

Articles: review

  • 2005 'A Place in the Cultural Order: on the changing role of photojournalism in France', Source: The Photographic Review 44, pp. 44-47

Books: authored

Books: edited

  • 2009 (co-edited with Long, J. J. & Noble, Andrea) Photography: Theoretical Snapshots, Routledge. (Additional information)
  • 2007 (co-edited with Barnet, Marie-Claire) Affaires de Famille: The Family in Contemporary French Culture and Theory, Rodopi, 347 pp. (Additional information)
  • 2005 (co-edited with Parry, Margaret) Andreï Makine: Perspectives Russes, L'Harmattan, 140 pp. (Additional information)
  • 2004 (co-edited with Parry, Margaret) Andreï Makine: La Rencontre de l'Est et de l'Ouest, L'Harmattan, 152 pp. (Additional information)
  • 2002 Masque et carnaval dans la littérature européenne, L'Harmattan, 192 pp. (Additional information)

Edited works: journals

Essays in edited volumes

  • 2009 (co-authored with Long, J.J.) 'Introduction: A Small History of Photography Studies', in Long, J.J., Noble, Andrea & Welch, Edward (eds.), Photography: Theoretical Snapshots, Routledge, pp. 1-15 (Additional information)
  • 2008 'Godard, Ernaux et la cartographie du quotidien', in Ortel, Philippe (ed.), Images, Discours, Dispositifs: Penser la représentation II, L'Harmattan, pp. 249-259 (Additional information)
  • 2005 'Experimenting with Identity: People, Place and Urban Change in Contemporary French Photography', in Gratton, Johnnie. & Sheringham, Michael. (eds.), The Art of the Project: Projects and Experiments in Modern French Culture, Berghahn, pp. 156-171 (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • 2005 'Vers une lecture bakhtinienne de Makine', in Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret (eds.), Andrei Makine: Perspectives Russes, L'Harmattan, pp. 117-123
  • 2004 'La seduction du voyage dans l'œuvre d'Andreï Makine', in Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret (eds.), Andreï Makine: La Rencontre de l'Est et de l'Ouest, L'Harmattan, pp. 17-24 (Additional information)
  • 2003 'Zola, Jourdain and the Architectonics of Modernity', in Harkness, Nigel., Rowe, Paul., Unwin, Tim. & Yee, Jennifer. (eds.), Visions/Revisions: Essays on Nineteenth-Century French Culture, Peter Lang, pp. 37-47 (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • 2002 'La violence de la culture: Mauriac et la décolonisation', in Polet, Jean-Claude (ed.), La Rencontre des cultures dans la littérature européenne contemporaine, ACM Edition, pp. 5-14
  • 2002 'Le carnaval perverti de François Mauriac', in Welch, Edward. & Parry, Margaret. (eds.), Masque et carnaval dans la littérature européenne, L'Harmattan, pp. 39-53 (Additional information) (View publication online)

Journal papers: academic

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Related Links

Grants Awarded and Grant Applications

  • 2008: AHRC Research Grant (in collaboration with Dr Joe McGonagle, University of Manchester)
  • 2007: British Academy Conference Grant
  • 2007: British Academy Small Research Grant
  • 2005: AHRC Research Leave Award
  • 2004: British Academy Conference Grant
  • 2003: British Academy Conference Grant

Supervises


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