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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
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
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
- Welch, Edward (2005). A Place in the Cultural Order: on the changing role of photojournalism in France. Source: The Photographic Review 44(Autumn 2005): 44-47.
Books: authored
- Welch, Edward & McGonagle, Joseph (2013). Contesting views: the visual economy of France and Algeria. Liverpool Liverpool University Press.
- Welch, Edward. (2006). François Mauriac: The Making of an Intellectual. Amsterdam New York: Rodopi.
Books: edited
- Long, J. J., Noble, Andrea & Welch, Edward (2009). Photography: Theoretical Snapshots. London: Routledge.
- Barnet, Marie-Claire & Welch, Edward (2007). Affaires de Famille: The Family in Contemporary French Culture and Theory. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi.
- Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret (2005). Andreï Makine: Perspectives Russes. Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret (2004). Andreï Makine: La Rencontre de l'Est et de l'Ouest. Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Welch, Edward (2002). Masque et carnaval dans la littérature européenne. Paris: L'Harmattan.
Edited works: journals
- McGonagle, Joseph & Welch, Edward (2011). France and Algeria in Contemporary Visual Culture. Modern and Contemporary France, 18 (2).
- Fell, Alison S. & Welch, Edward (2009). Annie Ernaux socio-ethnographer of contemporary France. Nottingham French Studies, 48 (2): Nottingham University.
Essays in edited volumes
- Welch, Edward & Long, J.J. (2009). Introduction: A Small History of Photography Studies. In Photography: Theoretical Snapshots. Long, J.J., Noble, Andrea & Welch, Edward London: Routledge. 1-15.
- Welch, Edward (2008). Godard, Ernaux et la cartographie du quotidien. In Images, Discours, Dispositifs: Penser la représentation II. Ortel, Philippe Paris: L'Harmattan. 249-259.
- Welch, Edward. (2005). Experimenting with Identity: People, Place and Urban Change in Contemporary French Photography. In The Art of the Project: Projects and Experiments in Modern French Culture. Gratton, Johnnie. & Sheringham, Michael. Oxford: Berghahn. 3: 156-171.
- Welch, Edward (2005). Vers une lecture bakhtinienne de Makine. In Andrei Makine: Perspectives Russes. Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret Paris: L'Harmattan. 117-123.
- Welch, Edward (2004). La seduction du voyage dans l'œuvre d'Andreï Makine. In Andreï Makine: La Rencontre de l'Est et de l'Ouest. Welch, Edward & Parry, Margaret Paris: L'Harmattan. 17-24.
- Welch, Edward. (2003). Zola, Jourdain and the Architectonics of Modernity. In Visions/Revisions: Essays on Nineteenth-Century French Culture. Harkness, Nigel., Rowe, Paul., Unwin, Tim. & Yee, Jennifer. New York: Peter Lang. 14: 37-47.
- Welch, Edward (2002). La violence de la culture: Mauriac et la décolonisation. In La Rencontre des cultures dans la littérature européenne contemporaine. Polet, Jean-Claude Strasbourg: ACM Edition. 5-14.
- Welch, Edward. (2002). Le carnaval perverti de François Mauriac. In Masque et carnaval dans la littérature européenne. Welch, Edward. & Parry, Margaret. Paris: L'Harmattan. 39-53.
Journal papers: academic
- McGonagle, Joseph & Welch, Edward (2011). Untying the Knot? France and Algeria in Contemporary Visual Culture. Modern and Contemporary France 19(2): 123-128.
- Welch, Edward. (2010). Marc Augé, Jean Rolin and the Mapping of (Non-)Place in Modern France. Irish Journal of French Studies 9(1): 49-68.
- Fell, Alison S. & Welch, Edward (2009). Interview with Annie Ernaux. Nottingham French Studies 48(2): 6-9.
- Welch, Edward (2009). Stars of CCTV: technology, visibility and identity in the work of Sophie Calle and Annie Ernaux. Nottingham French Studies 48(2): 55-67.
- Welch, Edward. (2008). "Une réconciliation du réel et des hommes": Mythologies and the Politics of Things. Nottingham French Studies 47(2): 19-28.
- Welch, Edward (2008). Portrait of a Nation: Depardon, France, Photography. Journal of Romance Studies 8(1): 19-30.
- Welch, Edward. (2007). Coming to Terms with the Future: The Experience of Modernity in Annie Ernaux's Journal du dehors. French Cultural Studies 18(1): 125-136.
- Welch, Edward. (2001). Commitment, commercialism and the dawning of image culture the early years of L'Express. Web journal of French media studies 4(1).
Other publications: research
- Welch, Edward. (2010). Arming The Eye: Martha Rosler and Critical Vision. Edinburgh: Stills Gallery. 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