Christopher Griffin

Thesis title:

The Aesthetics and Hermeneutics of the Secret in Contemporary British Fiction, 1998-2018

My research centres on the intersection of neoliberalism, the novel, and the aesthetics of ‘the secret’.

Research Area

Languages and Literature

Publications

Griffin, Christopher J. "A close-reading of Anthony Joseph's 'Bosch's Vision' from Bird Head Son (2009)." Postcolonial Writers Make Worlds, 2020, https://writersmakeworlds.com/essay-joseph-boschs-vision/. Accessed 28 September 2020.

Griffin, C. J. “Anthony Joseph.” Postcolonial Writers Make Worlds, 2020, https://writersmakeworlds.com/anthony-joseph/. Accessed 28 September 2020.

Griffin, Christopher, 'A Brave New Postmodern Ustopia: (pre-)figurations of neoliberal capitalist realism in H.G. Well’s A Modern Utopia and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World', Innervate: Leading Student Work in English Studies, Volume 11 (2018-19), pp. 194 - 202.

Conferences

July 2020: Panel Chair, 'Capitalism in Crisis', In Crisis: Art in the Eras of Emergency 1750 – Present (6th - 10th July), University of Cambridge.

April 2019: Presenter, ‘Towards a Melanated Future: An xposition of an alter|native Afrofuturism in Anthony Joseph’s The African Origins of UFOs, School of English Showcase, University of Nottingham.

Public Engagement & Impact

Oct 2019 - Jul 2020: Conference Organiser, Chair and Treasurer, In Crisis: Art in the Eras of Emergency 1750 – Present, University of Cambridge.

May 2020: Gave a seminar for a Widening Participation Cohort, “Contemporary Literature, Cultural Theory, and Capital: A Discussion of Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?", University of Cambridge. (1hr)

Other Research Interests

Anglophone Fiction and Poetry since 1975 (esp. Britain and the Caribbean)

Experimental and Avant-garde Literature

Neoliberalism and the State in Literature

Biopolitics, Poststructuralism, and Postmodernism

Anti-/Post-colonial Theory and Literature

Black SF and Afrofuturism

Affect Theory & Neurodivergency (primarily autism)

Intersection of Literature and Philosophy

Memberships

2020 - Present: British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies (BACLS)

Education and Training

MPhil Modern and Contemporary Literature, University of Cambridge, 2020. Distinction.

BA English (Single Honours), University of Nottingham, 2019. First Class.

A-Levels: Northampton (Further Education) College.

GCSE: Kingsthorpe Community College. Comprehensive School.

Awards, Scholarships, and Grants

Apr 2020: Midlands4Cities AHRC Doctoral Studentship Award, University of Warwick, (Full) - Accepted.

Apr 2020: Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP - Pembroke College Match-funded Studentship - Declined.

Dec 2019: Cambridge Graduate Funding Committee, funding for organising the postgraduate academic conference In Crisis: Art in the Eras of Emergency, 1750 – Present (£400).

Oct 2019: Sir Thomas White Award: awarded to ‘exceptionally academically high-achieving young people’ (£500).

Oct 2019: Sargeant and Beckett Educational Foundation Award (£500).

Jul 2019: ‘University Prize’ – awarded to an exemplary student graduating from the University of Nottingham's Faculty of Arts (£100).

Jul 2019: Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award; for attaining a mark profile 'within the top 3% of the graduating cohort'.

Jun 2019: School of English Prize for Best Undergraduate Dissertation: 'for an outstanding dissertation with a grade of 85%' (£50).

Jun 2019: School of English Prize for Best Single Honours Student: ‘for an overall average of 79%’ (£100).

March 2019: Cambridge UK Masters and Pembroke College Scholarship: awarded to ‘top-scoring applicants’ for one-year’s postgraduate study (£12,000).

Sep 2018: Sargeant and Beckett Educational Foundation Award (£500).

Sep 2018: Sir Thomas White Award, awarded to ‘exceptionally academically high-achieving young people’ (£1000).

Jun 2018: Dorothy Johnson Trust Award (£300).

Jun 2018: Sargeant and Beckett Educational Foundation Award (£800).