The majority of research in UoA 52, French is officially classified as world-leading, internationally excellent or recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour, having been placed in the three highest categories for quality in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
| Quality Level | 4* | 3* | 2* | 1* | Unclassified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of research activity | 15 | 35 | 35 | 15 | 0 |
We have a vibrantly active research environment in French at Newcastle, comprising several staff of international prominence alongside a commitment to supporting younger researchers. Since 2001 our strategic focus has been upon modern and contemporary language, culture and society: enthusiasm for investigating new areas of the discipline is manifest throughout, with, for example, ground-breaking work on French second-language acquisition, French cinema Star studies, manuscript studies, philosophy, Valéry studies, French sport and contemporary women’s writing.
Our research is grouped into four principal Research Clusters:
French is one of four sections within the School of Modern Languages (SML). Cooperation across different language research is actively encouraged: while maintaining discrete areas of language specialism, research benefits from the broader context of the School’s Fields of Study, creating a wealth of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural synergies across the School, the Faculty and the University. Collaboration is also fostered by an annual School Research Away-Day, research workshops, advice-sessions, and critical assessment of grant applications.
French has played a prominent role in establishing the University Centre for Research in Linguistics and Language Sciences ( CRiLLS), a cross-Faculty research group directed by Myles, forming one of the strongest centres of linguistics specialists in the UK and Europe. We also engage with larger Faculty groupings, such as the Research Group in Film and Media and the Americas Research Group. The Newcastle Institute for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (NIASSH) also promotes cross-faculty research initiatives by providing support for conferences, visiting fellows and financial assistance for pilot research projects.
Conference activity has established a major international dimension in our key research agendas. Our staff have delivered a total of 161 papers since 2001 in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. We have, at the same time, hosted a significant number of international conferences at Newcastle (eg Masculinities & Film 2001, Carmen 2002, France, Indochina, India 2003, Duras 2004, The Image and the Creative Act 2005). Two members of staff are Presidents of their subject association (Cross of ASCMF, Myles of AFLS; 2003-2007)