Alison James
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
1115 E. 58th Street.
Chicago, IL 60637
Office: Classics 119
Phone: 773/834-8739
Email: asj@uchicago.edu
Assistant Professor of French Literature
Alison James focuses on modern and contemporary French literature. Her interests include the Oulipo group, experimental writing, the connections between literature and philosophy, and the relationship between literature and the other arts. Recent and forthcoming articles study Georges Perec's writing methods (Théorie, littérature, enseignement 22), the problem of authorial intention in Oulipian texts (French Forum), and the question of literary formalism (L'Esprit créateur). She is currently completing a book manuscript on the formal and thematic functions of chance in the works of Georges Perec.
Education
- Ph.D. in French, Columbia University, 2005
- Diplôme d'études approfondies, Université de Paris VIII, 2003
- M.A. in French, Columbia University, 2000
- B.A. in Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German), University of Cambridge, 1998
Selected Courses Taught
Readings in World Literature, Georges Perec et l'Oulipo, La Stylistique, La Littérature à l'âge des révolutions (Introduction à la littérature française III), Du moderne au contemporain (Introduction à la littérature française IV), L'écriture du quotidien au XXe siècle.