RussellWilliamsCVEnglish

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Russell James Williams 171 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris, France Tel: (00 33) 06 95 45 98 88 Email: [email protected] Education 2009 -­‐ present: PhD candidate, University of London Institute in Paris. Thesis title: Pathos, poetry and narrative perspective in Michel Houellebecq’s fiction. Thesis submitted, March 2014. Viva passed, August 2014, graduation expected June 2015, pending minor corrections (examiners: Dr Andy Martin, Cambridge; Dr Carole Sweeney, Goldsmiths). 2000 -­‐ 2001: MA (Master of Arts) in European language and literature. The University of Manchester. Dissertation title: ‘A comparative study of Lautréamont’s Chants du Maldoror and Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf ’. 1996 -­‐ 2000: BA (Bachelor of Arts) in French language and literature. The University of Liverpool. Degree classification: 2.1. Teaching experience 2013 – present: Lecturer, Comparative Literature department, American University of Paris • Responsible for designing and implementing three critical writing courses. • Course theme: ‘Writing and shopping’. Students study a number of short texts and the novel Cocaine Nights (1996) by J. G. Ballard. • Course theme: ‘Writing the future’. Students read a number of short texts, including work by Michel Houellebecq, Chuck Palahniuk and Margret Atwood. • Course theme: ‘Intoxication’. Students read a number of longer texts from antiquity to the present day, including texts by Shakespeare, Arthur Rimbaud, Émile Zola and Martin Amis. 2013 – present: Visiting lecturer, Sup de Pub/INSEEC, Paris • Responsible for designing and implementing a course in contemporary English public relations for Masters level students. 2011 – 2013: Attaché temporaire d’enseignement et de recherche (ATER), UFR Langues et civilisations, Université Paris-­‐Est Marne-­‐la-­‐Vallée • Responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of classes for first year, second year and third year degree (licence) students of English 2
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Course leader/teacher for Masters course in contemporary literary theory Course leader for ‘Expression et comprehension orale’ classes Course leader for ‘Littérature: romans’ first year course. Students studied F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale Teacher for ‘Littérature: nouvelles’. Students studied a selection of English language short stories 2010 (January/February): Temporary tutor, University of London Institute in Paris • Co-­‐taught ‘C10: Critical approaches to literature and visual arts module’ • Seminars taught on Jacques Tati, François Truffaut/La Nouvelle vague and Robert Dhéry 2009 – 2011: Lecteur d’anglais, UFR Langues et civilisations, Université Paris-­‐
Est Marne-­‐la-­‐Vallée • Responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of classes for first year, second year and third year degree (licence) students of English • Course leader for ‘Expression et comprehension orale’ classes Professional experience 2014 – Present: Freelance reader for Gallimard publishing house, Paris • Reading English language manuscripts and recommending texts for translation for the Série Noire, detective fiction imprint 2006 – 2009: Account director, Cow PR (public relations agency), London • Senior member of client account team responsible for strategic direction of campaigns • Clients included Burger King, Google, JPMorgan, General Motors (Vauxhall), Disney • Management of a five-­‐strong team of executives and budget control • Strong grasp of publicity strategy, English and European media (print, TV, radio, internet, social media) • Strong writing and editing skills • A flexible, experienced and independent communications professional 2003 – 2006: Account manager, Lewis PR (public relations and public affairs agency), London • Press officer and political lobbying experience • Clients included France Telecom, Cognos, British Telecom and the Conservative Party 3
• Liaison with print, broadcast and Internet journalists 2002 – 2003: Account executive, Lighthouse PR (public relations agency), London • Graduate traineeship, entry level PR position Publications -­‐ books • With Eugene Brennan, Intoxication (Palgrave Macmillan: Volume presently being written for 2015 publication) • With Alastair Hemmens, Autour de l’extrême littéraire (Newcastle-­‐upon-­‐
Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012) Publications – chapters/articles • ‘Michel Houellebecq and the roman policier contemporain – between détournement and homage’, in Jean Kaempfer and André Vanoncini (eds.), Revue critique de fixxion française contemporaine, No. 10 (Abstract accepted, article being written for 2015 publication, pending peer review). • ‘« La transgression ne m’intéresse pas, pour le dire brutalement ». Michel Houellebecq, critic of transgression’, in Elizabeth Benjamin and Jessica Goodman (eds.), MHRA Working Papers in the Humanities (MHRA: forthcoming 2014, accepted for publication following peer review) • Entries on ‘Laurent Garnier’ and ‘Jean-­‐Michel Jarre’ for French Music in Close Up (title TBC), Michael Abecassis (ed.) (Dublin: Phaeton, to appear 2014) • ‘« La souffrance à la fois pénétrante et douce ». Depression in Michel Houellebecq’s fiction’, in Gillian Ni Chellaigh, Laura Jackson and Siobhán McIlvanne (eds.), Quand La Folie Parle (Newcastle-­‐upon-­‐Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), pp. 134-­‐150. • ‘Houellebecq et L’Idiot international : la genèse d’une voix littéraire ?’, in Bruno Viard (ed.), L’Unité de l’œuvre de Michel Houellebecq, (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2014), pp. 337-­‐349. • ‘Cults, crimes and coprophilia. Subversive communities in Richard Morgiève’s Sex Vox Dominam and Thomas Hairmont’s Le Coprophile’, Alastair Hemmens and Russell Williams (eds.) Autour de l’extrême littéraire, (Newcastle-­‐upon-­‐Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012) 4
Publications – review articles • ‘Jean-­‐Patrick Manchette, The Mad and the Bad’, New Statesman, publication pending • ‘Kamel Daoud, Meursault, contre-­‐enquête’, Times Literary Supplement, publication pending • ‘Sabri Louatah, Les Sauvages’, Times Literary Supplement, May 22, 2014, p. 21 • ‘Laurent Garnier, Electrochoc’, Times Literary Supplement, February 28, 2014, p. 27 • ‘Hélène Gestern, The People in the Photo’, Independent on Sunday, February 9, 2014 • ‘Mai Jia, Decoded’, Independent on Sunday, January 26, 2014 • ‘Douglas Morrey, Michel Houellebecq: Humanity and its aftermath’, French Studies, 2014, 68, pp. 128-­‐129 • ‘Michel Houellebecq, Configuration du dernier rivage’, Times Literary Supplement, August 30, 2013 • ‘Régis Jauffret, Severe’, Independent on Sunday, March 24, 2013 • ‘Régis Jauffret, Claustria and Lacrimosa’, Times Literary Supplement, November 2, 2012 • ‘Ruth Amar (ed.), L’écriture du bonheur dans le roman contemporain’, French Studies, 2012, 66, p. 589-­‐590 • ‘Sabine Van Wesemael and Murielle Lucie Clémént (eds.), Michel Houellebecq à la Une’, French Studies, 2012, 66, p. 586 • ‘Bret Easton Ellis, Imperial Bedrooms’, Transgressive Culture, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2012, pp. 115-­‐121 • ‘Joël Loehr, Les Grandes notions littéraires’, French Studies, Vol. 66, No. 1, 2012, pp. 124-­‐125 • ‘Alain-­‐Philippe Durand, Frédéric Beigbeder et ses doubles’, French Review, Vol. 85, No. 2, 2011, pp. 355-­‐356 Publications – translations 5
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Translation of short story ‘La Nageuse’ by Frederika Fenollabbate from French into English, Bil Bo K International, No. 29, May 2010, pp. 18-­‐21 Conference papers • ‘Michel Houellebecq and the roman noir – between détournement and homage’, Society for French Studies conference, July 2nd, 2013 • ‘La voix poétique et critique dans les romans de Michel Houellebecq’, L’Unité de l’œuvre de Michel Houellebecq, Université de Provence, 4th May 2012 •
‘Michel Houellebecq (and) the depressive subject’, London French Postgraduate Conference 2011, IGRS London, 14th November 2011 •
‘Experiences of transgression in Michel Houellebecq's fiction’, Transgression(s), Université de Provence/Association des Études Françaises et Francophones d’Irlande, 21st October 2011 •
‘Cults, crimes and coprophilia. Subversive communities in Richard Morgiève’s Sex Vox Dominam and Thomas Hairmont’s Le Coprophile’, Autour de l’extrême littéraire, University of London Institute in Paris, 3rd June 2011 •
‘Michel Houellebecq: celebrity, pop star, transgressor’, Interfaces, University of Exeter, 29th January 2011 Additional media • Contributor to leading cultural criticism website, The Quietus, focussing on avant-­‐garde French music • Commentary on 2012 French general election, ‘Sunday Supplement’ BBC Radio Wales, 20th May, 2012 • Editor of literature, art and cinema website www.urbanlandfill.co.uk • Regular contributor on French music/noise to www.thequietus.co.uk Additional activities 2013 – Organiser of ULIP postgraduate conference, ‘Intoxication’, June 2013, 2010 – 2014: Reviews editor, Transgressive Culture, international journal Gylphi Limited 6
2013 – Organised and chaired public round table discussion with novelist Will Self at ULIP, April 22nd , 2013. 2013 – Organised and chaired public discussion with novelist Aurélien Bellanger at ULIP, March 21st, 2013. 2012 – Organiser of ULIP postgraduate conference, ‘La Littérature authentique ?’, 8th June 2012, 2011 – Organiser of ULIP postgraduate conference, ‘Autour de l’extrême littéraire’, 3rd June 2012 Language competences Mother tongue English Near-­‐native command of spoken and written French Additional information • IT skills: Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Internet (PC and Mac). Strong grasp of e-­‐learning technology (inc: Moodle/Blackboard) as well as HTML-­‐based blog platform software (e.g. Wordpress) Full references are available on request