Current PhD Students

Mengchen Lang

Thesis Title:

Rethinking the Literary Concept of Authorship Through Vladimir Nabokov and W. G. Sebald

Supervisor:

Professor Richard Walsh

Description:

Authorship has been a much-contended concept in modern literary theories. On the one hand, influential theories such as “The Intentional Fallacy” and “The Death of the Author” have caused palpable qualms about the notion of authorship in literary studies; on the other hand, it seems quite impossible to circumvent this notion altogether, and from ‘the implied author’ to ‘the modern scriptor’, literary theories have been endeavouring to find new ways to think about the author. My doctoral research aims to contribute to recent theories of authorship by putting them in conversation with two specific writers. Exploring ideas and practices of authorship in Vladimir Nabokov’s and W. G. Sebald’s critical reflections and literary works, I discuss their rich implications for theories on authorial creativity, authorial intention, fictive communication, and the relation between life and work. I hope to make a strong case for the literary concept of authorship, especially in a time when writers and scholars are highly concerned with the social value, cultural diversity, psychological impacts, and ethical implications of literature.

My broader research interests include narrative studies, literary theory, and modernist and postmodernist literature.