Jean-François Richer, PhD
Doctorat en littérature française Université de Paris 8 Université de MontréalStagiaire étrangerÉcole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Areas of Research
19th Century French Novel
While I'm passionate about the entire "long 19th Century", my research activities focus on the role of sonorous references in Honoré de Balzac's _Human Comedy_. "Sounds" are omnipresent in Balzac's prose. His characters moan, shout, whimper, sigh and whisper, and around them a vast menagerie neighs, bellows, moos or barks. Doors are shut, wood floors creak, staircases echo with footsteps, dresses “froufroutent” while carriages, omnibus and horses resonate on the mineral surfaces of the city. In Balzac’s narrative prose, places, animals, objects, people and their customs are unfailingly accompanied by their sounds. My research aims to, 1), explore the thematic networks audible in and around those fictional sounds and, 2), describe the narrative mechanisms at play in Balzac's novels as well as in the realist esthetic system in general. Other areas of research include: role and representation of domestic architecture in 19th Century French narrative prose; education and/in literature.
While I'm passionate about the entire "long 19th Century", my research activities focus on the role of sonorous references in Honoré de Balzac's _Human Comedy_. "Sounds" are omnipresent in Balzac's prose. His characters moan, shout, whimper, sigh and whisper, and around them a vast menagerie neighs, bellows, moos or barks. Doors are shut, wood floors creak, staircases echo with footsteps, dresses “froufroutent” while carriages, omnibus and horses resonate on the mineral surfaces of the city. In Balzac’s narrative prose, places, animals, objects, people and their customs are unfailingly accompanied by their sounds. My research aims to, 1), explore the thematic networks audible in and around those fictional sounds and, 2), describe the narrative mechanisms at play in Balzac's novels as well as in the realist esthetic system in general. Other areas of research include: role and representation of domestic architecture in 19th Century French narrative prose; education and/in literature.
Supervising degrees
Languages, Literatures and Cultures - Doctoral: Accepting Inquiries
Languages, Literatures and Cultures - Masters: Accepting Inquiries
Languages, Literatures and Cultures - Masters: Accepting Inquiries
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Candidates who wish to further develop their passion and their reading, writing and thinking skills through a directed, yet free, complete immersion in the beauties and complexities of French literary prose.
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