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Murphy, Kieran Marcellin

Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Dr. Murphy's research explores the interactions between science, literature, and the arts in modern France, Haiti, and the Atlantic world. His work has appeared in Atlantic Studies, Angelaki, Modern Language Quarterly, SubStance, KronoScope, Loxias, La Revue des lettres modernes. Écritures XIX, Épistémocritique, Contemporary French and Francophone Studies/Sites, and artUS. He has recently completed his first book, Electromagnetism and the Metonymic Imagination (Penn State University Press, AnthropoScene series, 2020). His next book project, Science after the Haitian Revolution, explores the legacy of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) in the modern conception, production, and representation of scientific knowledge.

keywords

  • 19th c. French literature, science and literature, Haitian studies, Atlantic studies

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • FREN 1880 - The Zombie in History and Popular Culture
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
    Discusses the emergence of the zombie figure in the Caribbean and its evolution from colonial Haiti to present-day popular culture having passed through Hollywood. Through movies and literary, historical, and scientific documents, students will study critically how this mass-media icon came to represent deep-rooted anxieties about the modern world. Same as AHUM 1880.
  • FREN 3120 - Main Currents of French Literature 2
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2024
    A survey of important texts and artistic movements from the nineteenth century to the present that inform the contemporary French and Francophone world. Students will become familiar with the intellectual history crucial to understanding the present moment.
  • FREN 3200 - Introduction to Literary Theory and Advanced Critical Analysis
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
    Introduces important aspects of both classical and modern literary theory as an aid to reading and understanding literary texts. Covers theoretical works by figures ranging from Plato and Aristotle to modern French critics such as Barthes, Foucault, and Derrida in conjunction with selected literary works. Offers students more sophisticated means of understanding issues like gender, ethnicity, the roles of both author and reader in constructing meaning, the nature and functions of signs, and the relationship between literature and the larger society. Conducted in English, though French majors are required to read the texts in the original language. Required for students taking honors in French or Italian.
  • FREN 3500 - French Current Events: Conversation and Composition
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Spring 2024
    Establishes a solid foundation of contemporary French civic and cultural life through the study of film, journalism, and other current media. Focuses on presentations, debates, discussions, readings and written work. Taught in French.
  • FREN 3700 - French-American Cultural Differences
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Students will identify and consider key differences between French and American cultural, political and civic values through the analysis of film, literature, journalism, and personal observations.
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