Dr Jonathan Lewis
Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies
Overview
I completed a BA in French at the University of Exeter in 2006 and went on to do an MA in Literary Translation and a PhD in French Studies, both also at Exeter, graduating in 2012. Following completion of my doctorate, I worked as a Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth for a year and then as a University Teacher in French at the University of Liverpool for five years. I arrived at Bangor as Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies in the summer of 2018.
My PhD thesis was on themes of conflict and remembrance as represented in literary texts by French writers of Algerian origin. In October 2018, I published a book with University of Wales Press, entitled The Algerian War in French/Algerian Writing: Literary Sites of Memory, which built on my doctoral research. As well as having worked on the theme of memory and representations of war, I have also published on the topics of mobility and immobility and my current research focuses on representations of prisons and incarceration in the francophone world.
Additional Contact Information
Email: j.lewis@bangor.ac.uk
Phone: 01248 382119
Office location: Room 449, Main Arts Building
Qualifications
- PhD: Conflict and Remembrance in Franco-Algerian Literature, 1981-1999
University of Exeter, 2012 - MA: Literary Translation
University of Exeter, 2008 - BA: French
2006
Teaching and Supervision
I teach on and coordinate a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including core French language modules, modules on the history, cultures and society of France and the francophone world, as well as co-taught cross-departmental modules offered in the School of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. I am also Year Abroad Coordinator for French and I supervise a number of final-year dissertation students, as well as one PhD student.
I currently teach on the following modules:
- French for Beginners (first year)
- Advanced French (first year)
- Creating National Histories (first year)
- Race and Immigration in France (second year)
- French Language Skills and Translation (final year)
- Press Dossier (final year)
- Approaching Translation (final year)
- Research Methods (MA)
- Translation (MA)
Research Interests
My research interests lie in the broad field of Francophone Postcolonial Studies, with a particular focus on literary representation. Having worked extensively on texts authored by French writers of Algerian origin, specifially on representations of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62) and the way in which the war has been remembered in France, as well as on issues of integration, immigration, mobility and immobility, I have now begun research on prisons and incarceration in the francophone world. This new project encapsulates the history of French penal colonies, such as Guyana and New Caledonia, post-independence dictatorships in the francophone world, and representations of the prison in contemporary France.
I am an active member of the Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies and I am currently co-organising the Society's annual conference for 2019.
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Publications
2024
- PublishedColonial Continuities and Decoloniality in the French-Speaking World: From Nostalgia to Resistance
Arens, S. (Editor), Frith, N. (Editor), Lewis, J. (Editor) & Vince, R. (Editor), 3 Aug 2024, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. 328 p. (Francophone Postcolonial Studies)
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review - PublishedFrance has a long history of using islands as prisons – and not just in distant colonial outposts
Lewis, J., 28 Aug 2024, The Conversation.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article - PublishedIntroduction
Lewis, J., Arens, S., Frith, N. & Vince, R., 8 Mar 2024, Colonial Continuities and Decoloniality in the French-Speaking World: From Nostalgia to Resistance. Arens, S., Frith, N., Lewis, J. & Vince, R. (eds.). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, Vol. 14. p. 1-16 16 p. (Francophone Postcolonial Studies).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review - PublishedMobility, Immobility and Transgression: Representations of Dangerous Travellers in Mounsi’s La Noce des fous
Lewis, J., 1 Mar 2024, Colonial Continuities and Decoloniality in the French-Speaking World: From Nostalgia to Resistance. Arens, S., Frith, N., Lewis, J. & Vince, R. (eds.). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, (Francophone Postcolonial Studies).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
2023
- PublishedPostcolonial Migration, Racism and Culture: France and North Africa
Lewis, J., 2 Nov 2023, Routledge Handbook of Francophone Africa. Chafer, T. & Majumdar, M. (eds.). Abingdon: Routledge, p. 274-285 12 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
2022
- PublishedImpossible reconciliation? The representation of traumatic memories in La meilleure façon de s’aimer (2012) by Akli Tadjer
Lewis, J., 1 Sept 2022, In: Contemporary French Civilization. 47, 3, p. 339-356 18 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedThe French-Algerian war: 60 years on, what is behind France’s reconciliation agenda?
Lewis, J., 27 Oct 2022, The Conversation.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
2021
- PublishedIntroduction: Postcolonial Realms of Memory in the Francophone World
Lewis, J. & Wimbush, A., 1 Jul 2021, In: Francosphères. 10, 1, p. 1-7 7 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedMediterranean Connections: Representing the Migrant's Journey in Le voyage des âmes by Mounsi
Lewis, J., Sept 2021, Figures of the Migrant: The Roles of Literature and the Arts in Representing Migration. Brownlie, S. & Abouddahab, R. (eds.). New York: Routledge, p. 56-72 16 p. (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review - PublishedPostcolonial Realms of Memory in the Francophone World
Lewis, J. (Editor) & Wimbush, A. (Editor), 1 Jul 2021, Liverpool : Liverpool University Press.
Research output: Other contribution › peer-review
2018
- PublishedThe Algerian War in French/Algerian Writing: Literary Sites of Memory
Lewis, J., 15 Oct 2018, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 217 p. (French and Francophone Studies)
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review - PublishedTowards transcolonial francophone connections: Representations of mobility and immobility in Bel-Avenir by Akli Tadjer
Lewis, J., 13 Jun 2018, In: Francosphères. 7, 1, p. 87-101
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2012
- PublishedFilling in the Blanks: Memories of 17 October 1961 in Leïla Sebbar's La Seine était rouge
Lewis, J., Aug 2012, In: Modern and Contemporary France. 20, 3, p. 307-322
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedGood Guys and Bad Guys: The Battle of Algiers and The Dark Knight Rises
Lewis, J., 2012
Research output: Other contribution
2010
- PublishedIdentity and Identification in Azouz Begag's Le Gone du Chaâba and Béni ou le paradis privé
Lewis, J., 2010, In: FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts. 11
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
2023
- BU-IIA Funded Project: A Greener Modern Language Curriculum for Wales: Creative Approaches to Fostering Environmental Sustainability and International Language Learning
Aims: to develop creative approaches to fostering environmental sustainability in conjunction with international language learning. Working in partnership with GwE Global Futures, the project will lead to the creation of research-informed pedagogical resources for embedding environmental awareness in language learning, and the organisation of innovative workshops in Bangor with French graphic artist Anne Defréville, whose award-winning work engages with environmental issues in accessible and original ways. The programme of activities to be carried out in 2023-2024, with a focus on French language education and North Wales, is designed as a pilot scheme to be scaled up and serve as a paradigm for other languages, including Welsh as a second language.
Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £4340
1 Aug 2023 – 31 Jul 2024
Activity: Other (Contributor) - Iles-Monde: Francophone Islands Network
This is a recently formed network of academics interested in the histories, cultures and languages of French and Francophone islands. The network was formed by myself, in collaboration with two colleagues from external organisations.
2023 →
Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups (Organiser)