Dr Joseph McGonagle
Lecturer in Cultural Studies in the French-speaking World
Room: S4.14, Samuel Alexander Building
Phone: 0161 275 3230
Email: joseph.mcgonagle@manchester.ac.uk
Office Hours:
Tues 10-12 (Sem 1- Teaching Term Only)
Research Specialisation
My research interests centre upon two main areas: representations of ethnicity in contemporary French and Francophone visual culture, and the visual representation of Franco-Algerian relations.
My PhD thesis, 'Representations of Ethnicity in French Film and Photography since the 1980s' (Manchester 2006), analysed in detail a series of paradigmatic case studies across a wide range of genres that depicted important ethnic groups within France. Chapters focussed in particular on representations in French film and photography of national identity, the city and inhabitants of Marseilles, Jewishness in France, and women of Algerian origin. I am currently in the process of revising and updating this research as part of a monograph for publication by Manchester University Press in 2010.
In January 2008 my project 'Post-Colonial Negotiations: Visualising the Franco-Algerian Relationship in the Post-War Period' was awarded £164,294 by the AHRC, for which I am Principal Investigator. My Co-Investigator is Dr Edward Welch at the University of Durham.
This project will consider how colonial and post-colonial relations between France and Algeria have been represented since the outbreak of the Algerian War (1954-62), and will track the shifting way in which the idea or myth of 'Algeria' has been constructed, portrayed and understood in France during that time. The project's central hypothesis is that visual modes of representation in particular (such as film, video, photography and television) have played a crucial role in the mediation of the Franco-Algerian relationship. It will examine the role played by the visual image in constructing and contesting dominant modes of understanding both during and after decolonisation, and will do so by investigating a range of material from both within and outside mass visual media.
This three-year project began in September 2008 and will lead to three main outputs: a special journal edition on the project's theme, a co-authored monograph, and an exhibition in 2011.
Publications
Authored Books
Monograph on representations of ethnicity in contemporary French visual culture
(to be published by Manchester University Press 2010)
Academic Journal Articles
- 'The Multi-ethnic Metropolis: Representing Marseilles in Recent Photography', Journal of Romance Studies, 8 (2008), 31-42.
- 'The End of an Era: Marseilles at the Millennium in Robert Guédiguian's La Ville est tranquille (2001)', Studies in French Cinema, 7 (2007), 231-41.
- 'Gently does it: Ethnicity and Cultural Identity in Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau's Drôle de Félix (2000)', Studies in European Cinema, 4 (2007), 21-33.
- 'An Interstitial Intimacy: Renegotiating the Private and the Public in the Work of Zineb Sedira', French Cultural Studies, 18 (2007), 219-35.
- 'Translating Differences: An Interview with Zineb Sedira', Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 31 (2006), 617-28.
- 'Candid Camera? Photographing the Other in Luc Delahaye's L'Autre', Modern & Contemporary France, 13 (2005), 161-74.
- 'Ethnicity and Visibility in Contemporary French Television', French Cultural Studies, 13 (2002), 281-92.
Articles/Chapters in Books and Collections
- 'Having the Last Laugh: Representations of Jewishness in La Vérité si je mens! and La Vérité si je mens! 2 (Thomas Gilou, 1997 and 2001)', in France at the Flicks: Trends in Contemporary French Popular Cinema, ed. by Darren Waldron and Isabelle Vanderschelden (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007), pp. 171-83.
Conference Presentations
Click here for a full list of conference presentations.
Externally-Funded Research
'Post-Colonial Negotiations: Visualising the Franco-Algerian Relationship in the Post-War Period' (September 2008-August 2011): AHRC Early Career Research Grant (£164,294). My Co-Investigator is Dr Edward Welch at the University of Durham.
'Representations of Algiers in Recent Film and Photography': British Academy Small Research Grant (April 2008).
Professional Biography
Training
- PhD 'Representations of Ethnicity in French Film and Photography since the 1980s' (The University of Manchester) 2002-2006 [Supervisors: Dr Ursula Tidd and Dr John Perivolaris; External Examiner: Professor Ginette Vincendeau].
- MA French Studies (with Distinction) (University of Manchester) 2001-2002.
- BA (Double Honours) French and Spanish (Double 1st) (University of Manchester) 1997-2001.
Previous Positions Held
Lecturer in French at the University of Wales, Bangor (2005-2006)
Professional Advisory Work and Service
Board Member of the Centre for Research in the Visual Cultures of the French-Speaking World (CRIVCOF)
Member of the Advisory Board for Redeye, the Photography Network
External Peer Reviewer of AHRC Research Leave Application (2008)
Book Proposal Assessor for Manchester University Press (2007)
Membership of Professional Organisations
Association for Studies in French Cinema (SFC)
Teaching Areas
Undergraduate
FREN 20140 French Cinema to 1980
FREN 20450 Contemporary French Culture
FREN 20560 Identity and Power (co-convenor)
FREN 30000 Dissertation in French Studies
FREN 30091 France and Algeria: Film, Video and Photography (convenor)
LALC 10002 Introduction to World Cinema 2
Postgraduate
ELAN 70022 Critical Concepts
LALC 61001 Research Methods