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Languages, Linguistics and Film

Professor Adrian Armstrong

Adrian

Centenary Professor of French

Email: a.armstrong@qmul.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7882 8316
Room Number: Arts One 2.09A
Office Hours: Drop-in hours during semester A teaching weeks: Monday 4-5, Arts One 2.09a (exc 23 Sept, 21 Oct); Thursday 11-12, online (exc 3 Oct)

Profile

My research engages with questions like:

• How is literature shaped by its material form, on pages and in books?

• How do images and words interact to make meanings in illustrated books?

• How do poems create meaning through their form as well as their language?

• How do literary translations tackle the challenges of poetic form?

Most of my work lies at the intersection of two or more disciplines: literary studies, visual studies, book history, and translation and adaptation studies. It focuses on literature in French, and interactions between Dutch- and French-speaking cultures in the Low Countries, from around 1400 to 1550. I'm also developing a strand of research on modern (post-1830) Flemish literature. My recent publications explore, among other things, translations of poetry from French into Dutch and vice versa. I'm currently working on a translation of stories by the Flemish author Hendrik Conscience (1812-1883); a Companion to the 15th-century poet François Villon; and an edition of the poetry of Jean Molinet (1435-1507).

I’ve supervised PhD students in a range of areas that reflect my specialisms. Topics for which I’ve been part of a supervisory team include Renaissance Italian art history; 19th-century German literary medievalism; 17th-century English book history; and literary translation in 16th-century Europe, 1970s Malaysia, and contemporary Taiwan.

My contributions to the wider academic community have taken various forms. Within QMUL I’ve served as:
- Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film (2014-17)
- Inaugural Head of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures (2017)
- Deputy Dean for Research (PGR), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (2019-20)
- Director of the QMUL Doctoral College (2020)
- Dean for Research, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences (2021-23)

I've also held various roles in the Association of University Professors and Heads of French (now AUPHF+): Executive Committee member (2008-10), Membership Secretary (2010-13), President (2013-16), Acting President (2016-17), and Vice-President (2017-19).

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