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Biography

PhD (University of Nottingham, 2005)

My research interests are in contemporary American literature, postmodernism, trauma theory and the literature of trauma, and Jewish-American literature. I am the author of Contemporary American Trauma Narratives (Edinburgh UP, 2014), which won the Irish Association for American Studies' 2015 Peggy O'Brien Book Prize, and Henry Roth’s Semi-Autobiographical Tetralogy,

Mercy of a Rude Stream(1994-1998): The Second Career of an American Novelist (Mellen,

2008), plus articles and book chapters on crime fiction, and trauma in popular culture. I am currently researching a monograph on elements of naturalism in contemporary American literature and culture. I welcome proposals from prospective PhD candidates in any of these areas.  

Research Interests

My research and supervision interests include a wide range of American writing. In particular, I am interested in contemporary American fiction, trauma narratives and trauma theory, Jewish-American literature, autobiography, narrative theory, and naturalism in American literature and culture .

 

I recently published a monograph,

Contemporary American Trauma Narratives, with

Edinburgh University Press. I am now working on a book on naturalism in contemporary American culture.

Publications

Books

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	Contemporary American Trauma Narratives. Gibbs, Alan (2014) Contemporary American Trauma Narratives. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. [Details]
	(2008)	Henry Roth's Semi-Autobiographical Tetralogy Mercy of a Rude Stream (1994-1998): The Second Career of an American Novelist. Gibbs, Alan; (2008) Henry Roth's Semi-Autobiographical Tetralogy Mercy of a Rude Stream (1994-1998): The Second Career of an American Novelist. unknown: Edwin Mellen Press. [Details]

Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	'The problem is, I'm not sure I believe in the thunderclap of trauma: Aesthetics of Trauma in Contemporary American Literature' Gibbs, Alan (2014) 'The problem is, I'm not sure I believe in the thunderclap of trauma: Aesthetics of Trauma in Contemporary American Literature' In: Tamas Benyei and Alexandra Stara (eds). The Edges of Trauma: Explorations in Visual Art and Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars' Press. [Details]
	(2010)	'Listen to him, Mr. Take-Charge: Gender Politics and Morality in Carl Hiaasen's Crime Novels' Gibbs, A; (2010) 'Listen to him, Mr. Take-Charge: Gender Politics and Morality in Carl Hiaasen's Crime Novels' In: Writing America into the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Details]
	(2009)	'Naturalism and Steinbeck's Curious Compromise in The Grapes of Wrath' Gibbs, Alan; (2009) 'Naturalism and Steinbeck's Curious Compromise in The Grapes of Wrath' In: The Grapes of Wrath: A Re-Consideration. Amsterdam: Rodopi. [Details]
	(2008)	'Jewish Salami and Ira Stigman's Mark of Evil: Sex and Self-Hatred in the work of Henry Roth' Gibbs, Alan; (2008) 'Jewish Salami and Ira Stigman's Mark of Evil: Sex and Self-Hatred in the work of Henry Roth' In: Jews and Sex. unknown: Five Leaves. [Details]
	(2005)	'Jewish American Autobiography' Gibbs, Alan; (2005) 'Jewish American Autobiography' In: The Encyclopaedia of Ethnic American Literature. unknown: Greenwood Press. [Details]
	(2005)	'Nathanael West' Gibbs, Alan; (2005) 'Nathanael West' In: The Encyclopaedia of Ethnic American Literature. unknown: Greenwood Press. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2013)	'“Maybe that's what happens if you touch the Doctor, even for a second”: Trauma in Doctor Who' Gibbs, Alan (2013) '“Maybe that's what happens if you touch the Doctor, even for a second”: Trauma in Doctor Who'. Journal of Popular Culture, 46 (5):950-972 [Details]
	(2006)	'Trends in Twentieth-Century American Literary culture: Henry Roth's 'Gateways of Esteem'' Gibbs, Alan; (2006) 'Trends in Twentieth-Century American Literary culture: Henry Roth's 'Gateways of Esteem''. Working With English, 2 (*):*-* [Details]
	(2005)	'A Means to an End: Henry Roth's Self-Consuming Short Fiction' Gibbs, Alan; (2005) 'A Means to an End: Henry Roth's Self-Consuming Short Fiction'. Journal of The Short Story In English, 44 (*):25-36 [Details]
	(2004)	'Editing the Great Literary Comeback: Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth and Henry Roth's Mercy of a Rude Stream' Gibbs, Alan; (2004) 'Editing the Great Literary Comeback: Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth and Henry Roth's Mercy of a Rude Stream'. US Studies Online, 5 (*):*-* [Details]
	(2003)	'Editing Henry Roth's Mercy Series: A Conversation with Robert Weil' Gibbs, Alan; (2003) 'Editing Henry Roth's Mercy Series: A Conversation with Robert Weil'. Studies In American Jewish Literature, 22 (*):154-162 [Details]
	(2003)	'The Play's the Thing: Textual Criticism and Performance of King Lear' Gibbs, Alan; (2003) 'The Play's the Thing: Textual Criticism and Performance of King Lear'. Postgraduate English, (7) [Details]

Professional Activity

Cite selected RIS BiBTeX

Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	2015	Peggy O'Brien Book Prize	Irish Association for American Studies

Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	British Association for American Studies	Member	/
	Irish Association for American Studies	Member	/

Journal Activities

	Journal	Role	To / From
	Irish Journal Of American Studies	Referee	01-MAR-08 -
	The Journal Of The Short Story In English	Editor	01-JUN-05 -
	The European Journal Of American Studies	Member of Advisory Board	01-JAN-15 - 30-APR-21
	Criticism	Referee	12-JAN-15 -
	Contemporary Literature	Referee	01-JAN-15 -

Other Activities

	Description
	PhD external examiner at University of Limerick, October 2014
	PhD external examiner at University of Edinburgh, December 2014

Teaching Activity

I was appointed to my current position in UCC as lecturer in American Literature during September 2006, my first permanent academic appointment. My teaching and research interests include

Jewish-American writing, autobiography, contemporary American fiction, and trauma narratives, with a strong emphasis on narrative theory.

My research in Jewish-American literature has centred especially on Henry Roth, a neglected twentieth-century author. I recently published a monograph containing significant new biographical material obtained from archival research and interviews. I have separately published interviews on the subject of Roth, plus articles on his reputation, and on the editing of his work, comparing it to the case of Ralph Ellison. My monograph on Roth attempts to situate him not only in the more traditional Jewish-American context but also alongside other contemporary and postmodernist literature.

 

I have been invited to give papers on Jewish-American literature at a number of international conferences, including the Jewish-American and Holocaust Literature Symposium in America in 2003 and the Interdisciplinary Approaches to Short Fiction Theory and Criticism conference in Spain in 2004.

I edited a collection for the Journal of the Short Story in English (see below) partly as a result of my involvement with this conference. I was also asked to deliver a public lecture at

Cork Public Library on contemporary Jewish-American literature, as part of their lecture series on the short story in 2008. More recently, I have delivered papers at international conferences in London, Nottingham, Chichester, Belfast, Lincoln, and Reykjavik on the subject of trauma in contemporary American literature.

I have also been invited to give talks to specialist audiences at an international level, as when I was invited to lecture on contemporary Jewish-American fiction to the English MA class at the University of Rostock in June 2008.