I have a passion for literature, film, visual arts, music and cultural theory and I enjoy sharing these interests through my teaching and research. I have extensive experience teaching in the areas of critical theory, contemporary literature, postcolonialism, and trauma/Holocaust studies. I have also convened a course on Film Theory and a course exploring the relationship between Art and Revolution for the Cornerhouse.
I teach because I love to teach and to debate critical theory, film and literature. I find teaching rewarding and enjoyable - I see it as a productive interaction where I am able to share my expertise, while constantly learning from the debates and insights offered by my students. I enjoy seeing students get excited or angry about particular texts; as they develop and hone their ability to engage critically with the world around them, so do I.
I am committed to providing high quality, engaging and challenging teaching. I try to write lectures and lead seminars that are engaging and interactive, incorporating diverse and innovative approaches. I value a flexible approach to teaching that combines a range of approaches, disciplines and cultural forms, grounding the study of English within the wider world. In seminars I like to use groupwork and general class discussion to suit the differing needs and preferences of my students. I aim to adapt my teaching style to the particular dynamics and requirements of each group.
I took my BA, MA and PhD here at MMU and was awarded AHRC funding for my MA and PhD.After focusing on critical theory, postcolonialism and trauma literature at BA and MA level, my doctoral thesis drew these areas together. "Under the Shadow of the Holocaust: Representing Violence and Complicity in Western modernity" explores literary representations that draw the Holocaust into a wider narrative of Western violence incorporating slavery, colonialism and neocolonial violence. My thesis and my more recent research explores the formal techniques by which writers and filmmakers implicate the reader in their representations of violence, thus addressing the important and sometimes neglected issue of complicity. I have published two articles on postcolonial trauma that emerged out of this research. One article has been published in an internationally acclaimed publication in postcolonial trauma studies for a special issue of Studies in the Novel (“The Past in the Present: Personal and Collective Trauma in Achmat Dangor’s Bitter Fruit” (2008)). This article highlights problem areas in Eurocentric trauma theories through a reading of postcolonial trauma literature. I have recently published an article in the Journal of Postcolonial Writing exploring how critics have neglected the question of Palestine in Caryl Phillips’ The Nature of Blood, which in turn implicates strands of postcolonial writing and criticism in the way that the dispossession of Palestinians has been supported within metropolitan culture. I have an article forthcoming with the Journal of Commonwealth Literature exploring the marginalisation of the short story and Arabic literature within debates about postcolonial and world literature. I also have a chapter exploring the representation of class and learning disability in Mike Leigh's Meantime. I am currently researching the representation of perpetrators and complicity in film and am close to completing an article on Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing.
I have taught a wide range of courses in literature, film and cultural studies here at MMU, as well as at Edge Hill university and at the Cornerhouse.
Studying English is a brilliant means for expanding your mind and ability to think critically about a wide range of texts. As much as it is about a love of literature and reading, studying English is about learning to think differently about history, politics and culture, as well as the diverse ways in which these things are represented.
My research interest in violence and complicity revolves around my belief in the importance of understanding our implicated position within a historical tradition and globalised world that continues to be structurally unjust.
Critical Dialogues
Representing Trauma
Media Cultures
After focusing on critical theory, postcolonialism and trauma literature at BA and MA level, my AHRC-funded doctoral thesis drew these areas together. "Under the Shadow of the Holocaust: Representing Violence and Complicity in Western modernity" explores literary representations that draw the Holocaust into a wider narrative of Western violence incorporating slavery, colonialism and neocolonial violence. My thesis and my more recent research explores the formal techniques by which writers and filmmakers implicate the reader in their representations of violence, thus addressing the important and sometimes neglected issue of complicity. I am close to completing an article on Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing.
AK. Miller (2015). Circulating the peripheries: Small publishers, short story collections andMadinah:City Stories from the Middle East. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. 50(2), pp.115-132.
I won an AHRC scholarship for my MA and my PhD.
Last year I was commissioned by the Cornerhouse – Manchester’s international centre for contemporary visual arts and independent film – (www.cornerhouse.org) to design and present a 7-week course on “Art and Revolution” (http://www.cornerhouse.org/education/education-courses/art-against-authority-inciting-the-revolution) to accompany their exhibition “Art and Anguish” in April 2013.
For several years, I have organised a weekly film-screening and interdisciplinary research group (“Trauma Film” - http://www.hssr.mmu.ac.uk/trauma/) at Manchester Metropolitan University open to staff, students and members of the public. We invite academics and non-academics from a range of disciplines to present three-four week seasons of films. One of our objectives is to create links with the wider community by putting on collaborative seasons with external organisations, often to coincide with cultural events in Manchester. For instance, “Trauma Film” has participated in Manchester’s European Film Festival, its International Science week and has recently collaborated with a local Climate Change group. This has given me valuable experience fostering external links and extending academic activities and research to the wider community.
For my BA degree here at MMU, I won the prize for highest scoring first class honours degree within the department of English. For my MA I won the Head of Department's prize for highest scoring MA across humanities subjects. I won an AHRC scholarship for my MA and PhD here at MMU.