Biography
I graduated with an MA in French and German from the University of Glasgow, before completing a D.Phil. at the Queen’s College, Oxford. I joined the department of French at King’s in 1994.
Research Interests and PhD Supervision
- Contemporary French and Francophone Women’s Writing
- Franco-Algerian Women’s Writing
- Early French Women’s Press
My main area of research is contemporary French and Francophone women’s writing. I am also interested in early manifestations of feminist thought in women’s journalistic writings in France and have recently published a monograph on the early years of the French women’s press, Figurations of the Feminine in the Early French Women’s Press, 1758-1848 . You can find out more about the book in an interview here.
I have co-edited a volume on mediatic representations of women and the city that challenges the conventional configuration of the city as a masculine space, Women and the City in French Literature and Culture: Reconfiguring the Feminine in the Urban Environment. I have published extensively on a range of French and Francophone women authors and have a particular interest in Franco-Algerian women’s writing, including works by Maïssa Bey, Leïla Marouane and Malika Mokeddem. I also published the first monograph in English on the contemporary French author, Annie Ernaux
For more details, please see my full research profile.
Teaching
I teach on a variety of courses in the French department related to French and Francophone women’s writing at both BA and MA level. I also teach on a Liberal Arts module outside the Department.
Expertise and Public Engagements
I am a member of the International Assessment Board for the Irish Research Council. I was the recipient of a Teaching Excellence Award in 2007.
Selected Publications