I am a Reader in Contemporary Literature and Culture at Liverpool John Moores University. I have previously taught at Bilkent University in Ankara, at the University of Cambridge (where I obtained my PhD), and in London. My main research and teaching interests are in contemporary British literature, postcolonial studies, modernist and postmodernist literature, film and adaptation studies, and theory.
I have a special interest and expertise in the celebrated, award-winning writer Andrea Levy. Following an externally-funded research project on her archive, I am currently finishing a book called Andrea Levy's Novels for Manchester UP. I have various other Levy-themed projects already in print and forthcoming, and have co-edited some of Levy's previously unseen work for posthumous publication.
My first book, Contemporary Fictions of Multiculturalism, was published with Palgrave in 2014. My work has also appeared in publications such as ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, The Journal of Postcolonial Writing, The Journal for Cultural Research, Dictionary of Literary Biography, The Literary Encyclopedia, and numerous edited collections. In addition to my ongoing projects that are focused on Levy, I am currently developing a project that relates to screen adaptations of contemporary transnational fiction. I have appeared on local and national radio, and have written for The Guardian's Higher Education Network.
I lead three undergraduate modules at LJMU: 'Literary and Cultural Theory', 'Writing Race in Britain', and 'Migrants to the Screen'. I also teach on the undergraduate module 'C21: British Fiction Now', and the postgraduate module 'Mobilities'. I also supervise MA dissertations and PhD theses. I am currently lead supervisor on three PhD projects at LJMU, and second supervisor on a fourth. I have previously been on the supervisory teams for PhD projects both in the UK and overseas. I welcome enquiries from students considering postgraduate research in any of my areas of interest.
Main Research and Teaching Interests:
Contemporary British literature
Postcolonial studies
Modernist and postmodernist literature
The novel
Adaptation studies
Theory
Academic Qualifications:
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017 to present).
PhD in English Literature, University of Cambridge (Clare Hall) 2011 (fully funded by the AHRC). Thesis: ‘Celebrated Fictions of Multicultural London of the 1990s and 2000s’. Supervisor: Professor Priyamvada Gopal.
MA (Distinction) in Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Literature, University of Nottingham 2006 (fully funded by the AHRC).
BA (First Class with Honours) in English Literature, University of East Anglia 2004.
Other Experience:
I haven't always been a full-time academic. My various other jobs have included:
Working in the sixth form of a school in Southwark, London (the one used in the filming of Top Boy, if you've seen that), teaching A Level English Literature and, as the Higher Education Lead, supporting non-privileged students with their university applications.
Teaching English as a second language for numerous years on insecure, zero-hours contracts.
Tutoring A Level and GCSE students.
Serving as the Finance Officer of a hospital for adults with learning disabilities.
Working in Human Resources departments.
Working in a supermarket, monitoring and ordering stock, stacking shelves, and working on checkouts.
Working as a temp, primarily in data entry, and sometimes doing things like putting letters into envelopes all day.
Serving refreshments and cleaning in a café/restaurant.
© Michael Perfect