Parker, Michael (Professor)
Professor of English Literature; Research Co-ordinator for School of Journalism, Media and Communication; Research Manager for Literature and Cultures.
School of Journalism, Media and Communication
University of Central Lancashire, Fylde 411, Preston, PR1 2HE
+44 (0)1772 893019
mrparker@uclan.ac.uk
Biographical Notes / Qualifications
B.A. Hons. University of Reading
Certificate in Education. University of Southampton.
M.A. University of Lódz, Poland
M.Phil. University of Manchester
Ph.D. University of Liverpool
Michael Parker has been a member of the English Literature team at the University of Central Lancashire since 1999. He was made a Fellow of the English Association in 2009 and has been an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Irish Studies since 1982. In 2005 he was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Ulster’s Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages and in 2009 a Fellowship at Emory University, Atlanta. He is a member of the Peer Review College of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and a peer reviewer for the Research Council of Norway.
His principal areas of research lie in Irish Literature, contemporary British literature and post-colonial writing, and he particularly welcomes applications from postgraduate students interested in pursuing projects related in these fields.
His current research projects include a monograph, Seamus Heaney: Legacies, Afterlives, due from Palgrave Macmillan in 2011, and an essay collection on the fiction of William Trevor which he is co-editing with Paul Delaney of Trinity College Dublin. November 2007 saw the publication in two volumes of his most ambitious project to date, Northern Irish Literature, 1956-2006: The Imprint of History (Palgrave Macmillan). More recently, an essay collection which he has co-edited with Scott Brewster, Irish Literature Since 1990: Diverse Voices, has appeared from Manchester University Press. Offering fresh perspectives on the transformations in Irish culture and writing, itincludes contributions from leading international scholars in the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the USA.
In addition to his duties as joint Research Co-Ordinator for the School of Journalism, Media and Communication, he is involved in the development of research links between the University of Central Lancashire and literature departments in several European institutions. In recent years he has secured British Academy, British Council and Erasmus funding for collaborative research and teaching partnerships with Charles University Prague, the University of Łódź (Poland), Debrecen University (Hungary), University of Paris III, the University of Porto and the University of Ulster.
He is an Advisory Editor for Irish Studies Review and for the Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies. He is a member of the English Association, the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature, the British Association for Irish Studies, the American Conference of Irish Studies, and the Thomas Hardy Association.
Current Research and Supervision
Irish Literature; Northern Irish Literature, History and Politics;
Colonial/ Postcolonial Literatures and Theory;
Contemporary British Literature.
Teaching
Ways of Reading (Year 1)
Reading Texts: Theory and Practice (Year 2)
Romantic Literature (Years 2 and 3)
Colonial/ Postcolonial Literatures (Year 2)
Modern Irish Drama (Year 2)
Contemporary Irish Fiction (Year 3)
Northern Irish Poetry (Year 3)
Postgraduate: Postcolonial Literatures; Contemporary Irish Fiction;
Northern Irish Poetry and Drama; British Literature since 1945
Research Projects
My next major research projects include Seamus Heaney: Legacies, Afterlives, a critical study of Heaney’s poetry, prose and drama for Palgrave Macmillan, due out in 2011; and William Trevor, a collection of essays co-edited with Paul Delaney of Trinity College Dublin.
External Affiliations / Roles
Fellow of the English Association 2009-
Member of AHRC Peer Review College 2007-
Peer Reviewer for Research Council of Norway, 2007-
Reader for the Palgrave/ Macmillan, Manchester University Press, English, Textual Practice, ARIEL, Irish Studies Review, the Hungarian Journal for English and American Studies, and Swets and Zeitlinger.
Member of Editorial Board for Irish Studies Review.
Member of Editorial Advisory Board for the Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies.
Visiting Fellow, University of Ulster (Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages), 2005.
Honorary Fellowship in Irish Literature at the University of Liverpool, Institute of Irish Studies 1991-2008
Member of British Association for Irish Studies, the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures, the American Conference for Irish Studies, and the Thomas Hardy Association.
Grants
Arts and Humanities Research Council research leave for Northern Irish Literature 1956-2006: The Imprint of History, 2000-2001
North West Arts funding to support community project, Writers and Writing at UCLan, 2001-3
British Council (Poland) research grant to establish an exchange between UCLan and the University of Lódź, Poland, 2002-2005
British Academy award to develop links between UCLan, Charles University Prague, and the University of Ulster 2004-2007
British Academy Overseas Conference Grant to attend IASIL Conference in Prague, July 2005
British Council (Hungary) travel grant, to support discussions leading to the establishment of a European research network involving universities in UK, Hungary, Poland, and Czech Republic 2007
Belfast Society Grant to cover production costs for cover of Northern Irish Literature 1956-2006: The Imprint of History, 2007
British Academy Overseas Conference Grant to attend ACIS Conference in St Ambrose, Davenport, Iowa, April 2008
Emory University, Atlanta, USA: Short Term Research Fellowship, 2009
British Academy Small Research Grant to support research in the Heaney archives at Emory University, 2009
Selected Publications
Books
i) Seamus Heaney: The Making of The Poet. Macmillan, 1993. 294pp. ISBN 0 333 47181 4. http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=254362
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ii) The Hurt World: Short Stories of The Troubles. Editor. Blackstaff Press, 1995. 363pp. ISBN 0 85640 557 4
iii) Postcolonial Literatures: A New Casebook (Achebe, Desai, Ngugi, Walcott). Co-editor with Roger Starkey. Macmillan,1995. 288pp.ISBN 0 333 60801 http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=254296
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iv) Contemporary Irish Fictions: Themes, Tropes, Theories. Co-editor with Liam
Harte. Macmillan, 2000. 271pp. ISBN 0 333 68380 3 http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=252070
v) Northern Irish Literature 1956-1975: The Imprint of History, Macmillan, 2007.
ISBN 0-333-60415-6 http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=251079
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vi) Northern Irish Literature 1975-2006: The Imprint of History, Macmillan, 2007.
ISBN 0-230-55305-2 http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=280569
vii) Irish Literature Since 1990: Diverse Voices, Co-editor with Scott Brewster,
Manchester University Press, 2009 ISBN 9780719075636 http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/catalogue/book.asp?id=2597
viii) Seamus Heaney: Legacies, Afterlives, Palgrave Macmillan 2011.
Journal Articles (since 2003)
‘Northern Odyssey’: John Montague’s ‘The Cry’ and its Political Contexts, New Hibernia Review, 7:1 (Spring 2003), 87-109. ISSN 1092 3977
‘The Imprint of History: John Boyd’s The Flats, its Cultural and Political Contexts’, Essays in Theatre/ Etudes Theatrales 20:2 (2006), 137-156. ISSN 0821-4425
‘From Winter Seeds to Wintering Out: The Evolution of Seamus Heaney’s Third Volume’, New Hibernia Review, 11:2 (Summer 2007), 130-141. ISSN 1092 3977
'Fallout from the Thunder: Poetry and Politics in Seamus Heaney’s District and Circle’, Irish Studies Review, 16:4, (Winter 2008), 369-84.
Forthcoming
'Neither Home Nor Away: Place and the Displacement in Bernard O'Donoghue's Poetry', Irish Studies Review, 17:4 (2009). ISSN 0967 0882
'Liminal Visions:The Art of Nicola Nemec', introduction to exhibition catalogue, Hart Gallery, London, November 2009.
Chapters in Edited Collections
‘Glanmore Sonnets: Merging Traditions’, ‘Ugolino: Experiences of Pain’, in Seamus Heaney, ed. Harold Bloom (Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003, pp.58-9, 78-79.
“‘Blood Talk’: Issues of Politics and Family in A Slow Dance and The Dead Kingdom”, joint essay with Richard Greaves, in Well Dreams: Critical Essays on John Montague ed. Thomas Dillon Redshaw. Creighton University Press, June 2004. pp.230-59. ISBN 1 881871 45 2.
‘His Island’s Voice’: Kamau Brathwaite’s Middle Passages’, in Critical Responses to Kamau Brathwaite ed. Emily Allen Williams, Westport, Ct: Praeger, 2004, 177-8.
‘Telling Tales: Narratives of Politics and Sexuality in Brian Friel’s The Gentle Island’ and Forms of Redress’: Structure and Characterisation in Brian Friel’s The Freedom of the City’ in Brian Friel's Dramatic Artistry: 'The Work Has Value', eds. Donald Morse, Csilla Bertha, Maria Kurdi, Carysfort Press, Spring 2006. ISBN 1 904505 171.
‘Hybrid Voices and Visions: Short Stories by E.A. Markham, Ben Okri, Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Patricia Duncker and Jackie Kay’ in Blackwell Companion to the British and Irish Short Story, ed. Cheryl Alexander Malcolm and David Malcolm, Blackwell, 2008, pp.308-29. ISBN: 9781405145374
‘Alan Sillitoe’s ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ in Blackwell Companion to the British and Irish Short Story, ed. Cheryl Alexander Malcolm and David Malcolm, Blackwell, 2008, pp.409-16. ISBN: 9781405145374
‘Changing History: the Republic and Northern Ireland since 1990’, in Irish Literature since 1990: Diverse Voices, eds. Scott Brewster and Michael Parker, Manchester University Press, 2009, pp.3-15. ISBN 978 07190 7563 6
‘Falling into Light: New Generation Northern Irish Poets’, in Irish Literature since 1990: Diverse Voices, eds. Scott Brewster and Michael Parker, Manchester University Press, 2009, pp.177-98. ISBN 978 07190 7563 6
Essay in My Twentieth-Century Night-Life: A Padraic Fiacc Miscellany, Lagan Press, 2009. ISBN: 9781904652601
Invited Lectures and Conference Papers
2007
Birkbeck College, University of London (Invited Lecture 'Winter Seeds: Seamus Heaney's Changing Responses to the Northern Ireland Crisis, 1966-71': November 2007.
University of Seville, EFACIS Conference (Paper: ‘Enduring History: Northern Irish Fiction Since the Good Friday Agreement’), December 2007
2008
Trinity College Dublin (Invited Lecture: ‘Fallout from the Thunder: North Irish Poetry since 9/ll’), January 2008.
University of Paris III: Invited Lecture: ‘Du Temps Perdu: Poetry and Politics in Seamus Heaney’s District and Circle’, March 2008.
St Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa ACIS: (Paper: ‘Fallout from the Thunder: North Irish Poetry since 9/ll’) April 2008.
Trinity College Dublin, ‘Seduction and Betrayals: History, Politics and Gender in William Trevor’s Felicia’s Journey’. Invited Speaker at William Trevor Symposium, April 2008. University of Porto: IASIL Conference (Paper: ‘Bifocal Visions: Heaney, Morrissey and 9/11’), July 2008.
Hertford College, Oxford University, Invited Lecture: ‘Standing Your Ground: Seamus Heaney’s Negotiations with History’, November 2008.
2009
Columbus State University and Georgia State University, 'Civil Rights, Uncivil States: America's Impact on Northern Irish Politics and Literature 1960-1971', April 2009.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Invited Lecture, ‘Atlantic Crossings: Images of America in the Poetry of Seamus Heaney’, April 2009
Emory University, Atlanta, Invited Lecture, ‘Standing Your Ground: Seamus Heaney’s District and Circle’, April 2009.
Queen’s University, Belfast. Invited Lecture, “‘Skies Change, but not Cares’: Seamus Heaney in America’, May 2009.
William Carleton Summer School, Invited Speaker at Symposium on John Montague’s Work, August 2009.
Forthcoming 2010
Nordic Irish Studies Association Biennial Conference, Tromso, Plenary Address. December 2010
MARCH-APRIL 2009: RESEARCH VISIT TO UNITED STATES, SPONSORED BY THE BRITISH ACADEMY and EMORY UNIVERSITY
Robert W Woodruff Library, Emory University, Atlanta, location of major British and Irish literature archives.
Lecture at Emory University
Visit to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, hosted by
Professor George Lensing
