Amaya Naaman-Laurent

English Literature

Please tell us about your research project.

I am a first-year Master's student in English Literature at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, carrying out my M1 dissertation at the Maison Française d'Oxford over the Michaelmas and Hilary terms. My dissertation focuses on the poetry of Philip Larkin and, more precisely, on the notion of frustration as an organising principle at the heart of his work, exploring  the ways in which unrealised desires and disappointed expectations constitute a unifying thread across his oeuvre. My stay in Oxford will allow me to access key correspondence archives held at the Bodleian Library, most notably the poet's letters to Monica Jones, as well as the contextual and critical resources that are essential for situating Larkin among the poets of his generation and within the wider post-war literary landscape, one  in which restraint and diminished expectation appear as major contemporary concerns.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?

I am staying at the MFO as part of an international exchange facilitated by the ENS de Lyon's Department of Languages and Literature, which gives students the opportunity to spend a year abroad as part of their degree at one of the department's partner universities. This period of mobility not only allows me to benefit from a particularly stimulating academic environment, but also places me in close proximity to scholars whose research interests closely intersect with my own chosen subject. It offers me an invaluable opportunity to engage with ongoing research in my field while completing part of my Master's degree in English Literature at a leading university in England.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

Conducting my dissertation in Oxford has provided me with an ideal environment in which to carry out my research. Both the city and the University have struck me as highly stimulating places, where academic and intellectual life are part and parcel of the everyday. The student community and the historic feel of the city also make it a particularly enjoyable place to live, which is an important part of being able to work and conduct research in the best possible conditions. The MFO has further contributed to this experience by making me feel welcome and supported, providing an excellent setting in which to work throughout the year.