Current Research
Ph.D. English Literature, University of Western OntarioRomanticism and the vital life of rights
Primary Navigation
Joshua Lambier
-
2007 Trudeau Scholar
joshua.lambier@trudeaufoundation.net
Romanticism and the vital life of rights Profile
In his Memoirs, Pierre Elliott Trudeau quoted one of his favourite poets, Arthur Rimbaud. He likened verses from “Ma Bohème” to his own experience of public life. Like the late great leader, Joshua Lambier has endeavoured to engage in a simultaneous interest in literature and politics. In the pursuit of which he was struck by an important parallel: Rights discourses, in terms of policy and social implications, grew up side by side with certain literary conventions, as he says.
“I think many people assume rights to be trans-historical,” says Joshua Lambier, “Or even without history. Through my project, I want to show this is not so. It is important to look at the issues that have become so pressing, such as human rights, and see where they came from, along with the disciplinary baggage and presuppositions we’ve inherited.”
He will focus on the Romantic era because, in the wake of the French Revolution, he finds the genesis of modern rights discourse. And it is the kinds of conflicts that developed during that period that have echoes in the present era. Hence, “the vital life of rights” component to his topic, in that they have very real and profound impact now.
He stops short of calling the Foundation’s interdisciplinary approach revolutionary. But it has enormous appeal to this Scholar, already a convert to the cause of breaking down disciplinary boundaries in academe. As does having access to the Trudeau Community. “There are many international scholarships available that take one out of the country,” he says. “I appreciate that one of the mandates of this award is to create an academic community within Canada, linking so many major institutions and thinkers.”Languages
English, working knowledge of French and GermanDegrees
- M.A. English Literature, University of Western Ontario
- M.A. Theory and Criticism, University of Western Ontario
- B.A. English Literature and Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University
Current Research
Romanticism and the Vital Life of Rights
The objective of this study is 1) to push beyond discourses that treat rights as trans-historical, or even post-historical, by undertaking a genealogical study of the vital and evolving life of rights; 2) to interrogate how rights were born in the public sphere of the eighteenth and nineteenth century; 3) to probe the ways in which research in the humanities, including the theoretical and historical study of literature and culture, can make important contributions to the current debate on human rights.
Past Research
- Romantic Disaster: Kant, Shelley and the Question of History
- Justice, Community and the Romantic Political Unconscious
Awards
- Canada Graduate Scholarship, Doctoral, SSHRC
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- Canada Graduate Scholarship, Master's, SSHRC
- Hugh MacLachlan Scholarship
- Alumni Academic Gold Medal in Political Science / English, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Graduate Student Teaching Award, University of Western Ontario
- Student Volunteer Award for Community Service, City of Waterloo
Social Engagement
- Member of the Centre for Social Concern, King's College, University of Western Ontario
- Group leader at the National Shinerama Conference
- Co-coordinator of Wilfrid Laurier University's Shinerama Campaign
- Executive member of Wilfrid Laurier University's Shinerama Campaign
Work Experience
- Newsletter editor for the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism
- Research Assistant for Dr Tilottama Rajan
- Teaching Assistant, Department of Film Studies, University of Western Ontario
Viewed 1,419 times
Page Options