Elise Simone Marie Hugueny-Leger

Dr Elise Hugueny-Léger's research interests are in the field of contemporary French literature and culture, with particular emphasis on life-writing, representations of authorship, creative writing processes and translingual writing.

Her current reserach focuses on translingual creative writing. In 2022-23, she was the recipient of a Leverhulme International Fellowship to develop a project entitled "Beyond the writing impulse: crafting creative writing research in French" at CY/Cergy-Paris Université.

Her book Projections de soi: identités et images en mouvement dans l’autofiction (Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 2022), examines dialogues between literature and the moving image in processes of self-representation, and media strategies at play in autofiction. As part of her work on life-writing, she has published on a wide range of writers, including Marguerite Duras, Camille Laurens, Sophie Calle, Emmanuel Carrère, Amélie Nothomb, Laurence Tardieu, Didier Eribon, Edouard Louis.

Dr Hugueny-Léger has published extensively on Annie Ernaux. Her monograph Annie Ernaux, une poétique de la transgression (2009) provides a detailed exploration of narrative strategies in the works of Ernaux, and emphasizes the interplay between self and others in her writing. She keeps giving talks and publishing articles on Annie Ernaux on a regular basis, and developed the website www.annie-ernaux.org. This website provides detailed bio-bibliographical material as well as previously unpublished texts by Ernaux, in French with English translations. 

Other, broader interests encompass: the place of intellectuals in modern France; the rise of consumerism and its representation in artistic forms; women and their writings in contemporary French society; feminisms. She co-edited the journal special issue Untimely Mourning. Representing Child Death and Parental Mourning in Contemporary French and Francophone Literature and Culture (2019) and the volume Solitaires, Solidaires: Conflict and Confluence in Women's Writings in French (2015).

Dr Hugueny-Léger has supervised doctoral theses on autofiction and gender; mourning in Serge Doubrovsky; time in contemporary fiction; female multilingual autofiction. She welcomes PhD proposals on subjects related to her research interests.

University Certificate: Running Writing Workshops, Cergy-Paris Université (2023); Doctoral fellow, Durham University: PhD on the works of Annie Ernaux (2004-2007), PhD award 2008; Maîtrise d'anglais (comparative literature), Université de Franche-Comté, France (2002); Licence de Lettres Modernes, Université de Franche-Comté (2002); Licence d'anglais, Université de Franche-Comté (2002); Admissible, Ecole Normale Superieure (2000); Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles, Besançon (1998-2000).

Life-writing: autobiography; autofiction; diaries; memoirs

Creative writing processes and pedagogies

Creative writing, multilingualism, translingual writing

Women's writings and feminisms

Modern French literature and culture

Life-writing; autobiography and autofiction; French contemporary literature and culture; creative writing; translingual writing; women's writings and feminisms.

Dr Hugueny-Léger teaches French language, literature and culture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In French, she offers the modules ‘Writing the Self in 20th and 21st-century French Literature’ (FR3078), ‘Intellectuals in Modern France’ (FR3080), 'Creative Writing in French' (FR4150) and ‘Good and Ads: Consumerism in Modern France’ (FR4182).

The team-taught module ‘Creative Writing in French’ offers an innovative approach to French language and literary creation for learners of French. This module was awarded a University Teaching Excellence Award, and was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education award in the 'Excellence and Innovation in the Arts' category.

Elise also coordinates the Comparative Literature module ‘Autobiography and the Visual Arts’ (CO4021).