Staff in the Department of French
Dr Edward Welch, MA, MSt, DPhil Oxon
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. As part of the project, I co-curated a successful exhibition at Manchester's Cornerhouse between April and June 2011, visited by over 14,500 people. You can find out more about New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK on the Cornerhouse website. Finally, I am a regular contributor of articles, interviews and reviews to Source Photographic Review.
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.
Postgraduate supervision
I would be keen to hear from students interested in embarking on a PhD in a range of topics related to post-war France, including literary and visual culture, photography and the urban world. Comparative projects co-supervised with other colleagues in the School can also be envisaged.
Research Collaboration
I am a founding member and co-director of the Durham Centre for Advanced Photography, established in 2005 to promote research into the photographic image both in Durham and beyond. The Centre has established strong links with a number of organisations around the country, including Impressions Gallery, Bradford, and Autograph-ABP, London.
Research Groups
- Culture and Difference
- Literature/History/Theory
- Visual and Performance
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
- 2013 (co-authored with McGonagle, Joseph) Contesting views: the visual economy of France and Algeria, Liverpool University Press, 224 pp.
- 2006 François Mauriac: The Making of an Intellectual, Rodopi, 202 pp.
Books: edited
- 2009 (co-edited with Long, J. J. & Noble, Andrea) Photography: Theoretical Snapshots, Routledge.
- 2007 (co-edited with Barnet, Marie-Claire) Affaires de Famille: The Family in Contemporary French Culture and Theory, Rodopi, 347 pp.
- 2005 (co-edited with Parry, Margaret) Andreï Makine: Perspectives Russes, L'Harmattan, 140 pp.
- 2004 (co-edited with Parry, Margaret) Andreï Makine: La Rencontre de l'Est et de l'Ouest, L'Harmattan, 152 pp.
- 2002 Masque et carnaval dans la littérature européenne, L'Harmattan, 192 pp.
Edited works: journals
- 2011 (co-authored with McGonagle, Joseph) France and Algeria in Contemporary Visual Culture. Modern and Contemporary France, 18 (2).
- 2009 (co-authored with Fell, Alison S.) Annie Ernaux socio-ethnographer of contemporary France. Nottingham French Studies, 48 (2): Nottingham University.
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
- 2008 'Godard, Ernaux et la cartographie du quotidien', in Ortel, Philippe (ed.), Images, Discours, Dispositifs: Penser la représentation II, L'Harmattan, pp. 249-259
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
Journal papers: academic
- 2011 (co-authored with McGonagle, Joseph) 'Untying the Knot? France and Algeria in Contemporary Visual Culture', Modern and Contemporary France 19, pp. 123-128
- 2010 'Marc Augé, Jean Rolin and the Mapping of (Non-)Place in Modern France', Irish Journal of French Studies 9, pp. 49-68
- 2009 (co-authored with Fell, Alison S.) 'Interview with Annie Ernaux', Nottingham French Studies 48, pp. 6-9
- 2009 'Stars of CCTV: technology, visibility and identity in the work of Sophie Calle and Annie Ernaux', Nottingham French Studies 48, pp. 55-67
- 2008 '"Une réconciliation du réel et des hommes": Mythologies and the Politics of Things', Nottingham French Studies 47, pp. 19-28
- 2008 'Portrait of a Nation: Depardon, France, Photography', Journal of Romance Studies 8, pp. 19-30
- 2007 'Coming to Terms with the Future: The Experience of Modernity in Annie Ernaux's Journal du dehors', French Cultural Studies 18, pp. 125-136
- 2001 'Commitment, commercialism and the dawning of image culture the early years of L'Express', Web journal of French media studies 4.
Other publications: research
- 2010 'Arming The Eye: Martha Rosler and Critical Vision', pp. 1-15
Related Links
Grants Awarded
- 2010: AHRC Connected Communities follow-on funding (in collaboration with Prof. Neil Ravenscroft and Dr Niamh Moore)
- 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