Nina Rolland

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+44 (0) 118 378 3985
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Lecturer
- Lecturer in French Studies
Areas of interest
My research interests are in comparative literature and rely on three main areas that intersect with one another:
- Word and Music Studies: I am interested in the relations between literature and music from the nineteenth century until nowadays. My PhD thesis ‘Bodies in Composition: Women, Music and the Body in Nineteenth-Century European Literature’ examined the female body as a way to incorporate music in French, British, and German novels. I have explored how fiction incorporates music but also how music uses literature, particularly through song settings of poetry when I worked as a Research Associate on the ‘Baudelaire Song Project’ (AHRC-funded led by Prof. Helen Abbott).
- Gender Studies: I am interested in rethinking musical and literary canons through discourses used around women and through the works of female composers.
- The Digital Humanities: I have used digital tools (such as Sonic Visualiser) to analyse song settings of poetry as part of my research on the ‘Baudelaire Song Project’. I also worked on the ‘SoundsFrench AI app’ project (OWRI-funded led by Prof. Helen Abbott) to help learners of French improve their pronunciation. My current project proposes a statistical analysis of the vocabulary used around music in 19th-century French literature using the R programming language.
Teaching
I convene and teach FR2HTF ‘How to Think in French’ and I co-teach on the following modules:
- FR1L3 Advanced French Languages I
- FR2L4 Advanced French Language II
- FR1IFC Introduction to French Culture
- ML1TRANS Thinking Translation
- ML3IC Identity and Conflict in Modern Europe
- ML1EN1COMP What is Comparative Literature?
Background
Before joining the University of Reading, I was Lecturer in French at Queen Mary University of London. I previously held positions at the University of Birmingham, the Institut français of Düsseldorf (Germany), the University of St Andrews, the University of Kent, and Saint Bonaventure University (USA).Academic qualifications
- BA in French/Lettres Modernes (Sorbonne University)
- BA in Philosophy (Nanterre University)
- MA in Comparative Literature (Sorbonne University)
- PhD in Comparative Literature (University of Kent/ Sorbonne Nouvelle University)
- PGCHE/FHEA (University of Kent)
Publications
- Rolland, N. (2022) 'Bigflo & Oli', 'Gims', 'La Fouine', 'Soprano'. In: Abecassis, M. , Block, M. , Chaplin, F. , (eds.) An Anthology of French and Francophone Singers from A to Z. , 2. Cambridge Scholars ISBN: 9781527581227
- Rolland, N. (2022) 'Music and Gender Roles in Hector Berlioz’s Euphonia and George Sand’s Le Dernier Amour'. In: Durkin, R. , (eds.) Routledge Companion to Music and Modern Literature. Routledge ISBN: 9780367237240
- Rolland, N. (2021) 'Charles Baudelaire en musique : analyse numérique des mélodies de Gabriel Fauré'. Comparatismes en Sorbonne ISSN: 1962-8927
- Rolland, N. (2021) '"Dans la rue et le bitume ne poussent que les fleurs du mal": jouer et déjouer Charles Baudelaire et sa poésie dans le rap français'. Itinéraires ISSN: 2427-920X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/itineraires.9377
- Rolland, N. (2021) 'When the poet becomes the muse: Baudelaire and female composers'. Journal of Romance Studies , 21 (3). pp. 351-374. ISSN: 1752-2331
- Rolland, N. and Mandis, E. (2015) ‘Variety theatre and theatre of variations: performance, female body and music in Emile Zola’s Nana (1880), Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1894) and Arthur Schnitzler’s Fräulein Else (1924)’. European Drama and Performance Studies , 5 (2). pp. 55-72. ISSN: 2266-9035