Dr Maxime Goergen
BA, DPhil
School of Languages and Cultures
Lecturer
+44 114 222 2157
Full contact details
School of Languages and Cultures
3.40
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
91直播
S3 7RA
- Profile
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I graduated in French, English and sociology at the University of Neuch芒tel (Switzerland). I then became a teaching and research assistant in 19th and 20th-century French literature, working under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Sangsue, at Neuch芒tel. I developed an interest for the broad field of literature and politics, with a specific focus on the influence of French utopian socialism on romantic poetry.
I went on to study for a PhD on the political and narrative function of youth in the works of Balzac, under the supervision of Dr. Tim Farrant at Oxford. Before joining the French section at 91直播, I was Assistant Professor in 19th-century French literature and culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 2009 to 2012.
While firmly rooted within the close readings and analysis of literary texts, my research consistently tries to capture the relevance of 19th century literature and thought to 21st century debates, particularly those concerned with the representation of power and the political imagination.
Recent research interests have led me to reassess the importance of the figure of Victor Hugo for late 20th-century French socialism, or to work on the relevance of historian Jules Michelet to Agent Network Theory.
- Qualifications
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- Licence 猫s lettres (Neuch芒tel)
- DPhil (Oxford)
- Research interests
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- The works of Honor茅 de Balzac
- The construction of youth as a social category in 19th-century fiction
- The works and ideology of humanitarian writers Victor Hugo and Jules Michelet
- The influence of 19th century culture in contemporary French fiction
- French intellectual history after May-68 (especially the 鈥渓iberal turn鈥 of the late seventies)
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Jonathan Beecher, Writers and Revolution: Intellectuals and the French Revolution of 1848.. H-France.
- . French Studies, 76(1), 124-125.
- . French Studies, 73(4), 525-543.
- Vernon Subutex et le roman 芦 balzacien 禄. Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, 72(1), 165-182.
- . Nineteenth-Century French Studies, 45(1-2), 33-48.
- Paris-moissons, Paris-moteur : m茅tamorphoses de l鈥檈space urbain dans Paris de Zola. Bulletin du Centre de recherche fran莽ais 脿 J茅rusalem, 26.
- Fonctions de la lutte des classes dans Les Mis茅rables. Nineteenth-Century French Studies, 45(1-2), 33-48.
- . Romance Notes, 54(3), 353-368.
- The names in the Colonel Chabert: Language and power after Napoleon. Romance Notes, 54(3), 353-368.
- Pour une d茅lecture de la Com茅die humaine. La Lecture litt茅raire, 11, 59-69.
- Romantic manifestos and socialist propaganda: Emile Barrault's artists and the discourse on Pierre Leroux's artists. Revue des Sciences Humaines(295), 99-113.
- Manifestes romantiques et propagande socialiste : Aux Artistes d鈥橢mile Barrault et le Discours aux Artistes de Pierre Leroux. Revue des sciences humaines, 295, 99-113.
Chapters
- Michelet's Nonmodernity In Arnould-Bloomfield E & Chi-ah Lyu C (Ed.), Nonmodern Practices: Latour and Literary Studies Bloomsbury
- A Marginal Centrist: Tzvetan Todorov and the French Intellectual Field In de Berg H & Zbinden K (Ed.), Tzvetan Todorov - Thinker and Humanist Rochester, NY: Camden House.
Book reviews
- . French Studies, 73(3), 474-475.
- . The Modern Language Review, 113(2), 406-406.
- Michelet hors fronti猫res. Sous la direction d'Aur茅lien Aramini et Paule Petitier. (Cahier Textuel.) Paris: Hermann, 2021. 168 pp.. French Studies.
Conference proceedings papers
- Juin 1848, 芦 une r茅volte du peuple contre lui-m锚me 禄: un portrait du peuple en crise. Portraits de l'Histoire au XIXe si猫cle
- Jonathan Beecher, Writers and Revolution: Intellectuals and the French Revolution of 1848.. H-France.
- Research group
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I'm happy to supervise MA and PhD dissertations dealing with all aspects of the French 19th century novel, 19th-century French social thought, French intellectual history (19th-20th century) and aspects of the contemporary novel.
I'm happy to supervise undergraduate dissertations on a broad range of topics in 19th, 20th and 21st-century literature. In recent years, I have supervised dissertations on Rimbaud and Tristan Corbi猫re.
Current PhD students:
- Harsh Trivedi (2017-): 鈥楲es chefs-d鈥櫯搖vre inconnus: une 茅tude des 艙uvres fictives dans La Com茅die humaine鈥 (first supervisor)
- Rebecca Herd (2016-): 鈥樷淪taging鈥 Criticism: Seventeenth-Century French Women Playwrights and the Subversion of Classicism鈥 (second supervisor)
I supervised or co-supervised a number of MA theses, including Crossways MUNDUS dissertations, such as:
- Mike Henderson, Crossing to a Different World: an Examination of the Concept of Thresholds in the Mouret Novels, 2018
- Mykhailo Babaryka, G茅opo茅tique paysag猫re du r茅cit de voyage de Nicolas Bouvier (L鈥橴sage du monde) et de l鈥櫭ヽriture romanesque de Julien Gracq (Le rivage des Syrtes) (2018)
- Ivan Bulj, Challenging the Sea Monster: Mythical Re-enactment of the Struggle between Nature and Technology in the 19th and 20th Century Novel (2016)
- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate
FRE291/292 Textes classiques, textes inclassables: XVIIe-XXIe si猫cles
This course covers different themes and authors every year. In recent years, they included:
- 2017-2018 Ecrire la France aujourd'hui: Annie Ernaux (Les Ann茅es), Edouard Louis (En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule), Michel Houellebecq (Soumission), Virginie Despentes (Vernon Subutex)
- 2016-2017 Repr茅sentations de l'amour au XIXe si猫cle: Stendhal (Lamiel), Benjamin Constant (Adolphe), Huysmans (En Rade), Zola (Nana)
- 2014-2015 La trag茅die classique: Racine (笔丑猫诲谤别/础苍诲谤辞尘补辩耻别), Corneille (Le Cid/Cinna)
- 2013-2014 Flaubert: Un C艙ur simple /Madame Bovary
FRE3001/3002 Litt茅rature et d茅mocratie
Under the heading "litt茅rature et d茅mocratie", books studied in this module question the way literature integrates, represents and challenges the new democratic contract that emerges from the Enlightenment. Books studies change each year; in recent years they have included:
- Stendhal, Le Rouge et le noir
- Balzac, Le P猫re Goriot, Illusions perdues
- Zola, La Cur茅e
- Tocqueville, De la D茅mocratie en Am茅rique
- Michelet, Le Peuple
- Baudelaire, Petits po猫mes en prose /Les Fleurs du Mal
- Hugo, Les Mis茅rables
FRE117/118, Understanding Modern France
I am module leader for the first semester of this module, which covers French cultural history from the Ancien R茅gime to WW1. I usually teach sessions and workshops on 19th-century literary and political history.
FRE109/110 French Language and Communication Skills
I also taught on MDL201, Cold War Culture, and RUS 6710, Critical Theory (sessions on postmodernism and "French theory).
Postgraduate
MA in French Cultural Studies. Topics taught:
- La pens茅e anti-68 (2017-2018)
- Litt茅rature et consommation(2016-2017).
- Constructions of the city(2015-2016)
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Member of the Society of Dix-Neuvi茅mistes
- Member of the Soci茅t茅 des Etudes Romantiques et dix-neuvi茅mistes
- Member of the Soci茅t茅 des Amis de Balzac
I am currently the academic coordinator of the school's year abroad programme, as well as the local coordinator for French.
Until recently I represented the university in the .