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The Intersection of Class and Space in British Postwar Writing: Kitchen Sink Aesthetics
Bloomsbury, 2023
Kitchen Sink Aesthetics rethinks the British kitchen sink realism movement, examining how artists and writers connected the built environment to class articulation. By studying novels, plays, and films of the long 1960s, the book uses archival research to offer new insights into how spatial representation in cultural production perpetuates or challenges social hierarchies. It reimagines the role of setting in cultural production to clarify the interaction between social stratification and artistic expression.
Routledge, 2022
Locating Classed Subjectivities investigates the portrayal of social class in British fiction through spatial theory and analysis. This volume explores class-conscious texts from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. By examining how British writers used spatial aesthetics, the book reveals the nuanced dynamics of social class. It offers new perspectives on how authors employed spatial representations to comment on the complexities of class in British society.
CHAPTERS & ARTICLES
in Societies in Space: Essays on the Civilized Frontier in Film and Television
McFarland, 2025
Central to this interrogation is the notion of borders—specifically the way such borders function to establish and maintain categorical divisions between human/inhuman. Informed by such concerns, this chapter examines systems of dehumanization in Peter Watkins’ 1971 pseudo-documentary, Punishment Park, and the blurring of the alien/monster motif in Gareth Edwards’ 2010 independent film, Monsters. Both films exist within the speculative realm which, when paired with certain tropes associated with realism, elevate their function to that of distinct critical commentary.
in The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature
Routledge, 2024
Class depiction in literature is dynamic, with working-class fiction resisting clear categorization. Realism is often seen as the dominant mode of working-class representation. The analysis of such texts with class-centric themes in mind reveals shifts in the realist mode itself. This essay argues that recent decades have shown an increase in “difficult” content, often leaning toward shock and abjection as part of the mode’s central aesthetic. The essay makes this case using Douglas Stuart’s 2020 novel Shuggie Bain as a contemporary case study, exploring the novel's broad appeal despite its challenging subject matter. Ultimately, the essay posits that realism is chosen for its resonance with the difficulties of working-class life, suggesting aesthetic flexibility.
in Adult Themes: British Cinema and the “X” Certificate in the Long 1960s
Bloomsbury, 2022
“Mediating Desire” examines Karel Reisz’s 1960 film adaptation of Alan Sillitoe’s 1958 novel, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, tracing the negotiations between the demands of the postwar British censor and the provocative nature of the author’s work. This essay explores Reisz’s path as he refines his artistic skills, transitioning from the niche Free Cinema movement to mainstream filmmaking. By focusing on the conflicts and compromises he addressed, the essay provides a compelling narrative of artistic development and the challenges of navigating censorship and the kind of aggressive expression seen in the postwar period.
in Locating Classed Subjectivities: Space and Social Class in 19th, 20th, and 21st-Century British Writing
Routledge, 2022
“Addressing Stigma” locates Pat Barker’s aesthetically challenging 1982 novel Union Street within the context of spatialized class consciousness. Drawing on Loïc Wacquant’s concept of “territorial stigmatization,” the essay explores how social stratification and urban redlining contribute to the construction, perpetuation, and isolation of marginalized bodies. Analysis of the novel sheds light on how spatial dynamics reinforce societal hierarchies and segregate individuals deemed socially undesirable, offering a compelling exploration of the complex interplay between social stigma, urban geography, and class consciousness.
in The Routledge Companion to Literature and Class
Routledge, 2021
This essay addresses the issue of community-driven insularity, focusing on how identities are shaped by shared experiences of hardship. Using Richard Milward’s 2007 novel Apples as a guide, the essay considers how notions of sustenance and resilience contribute to identity formation while simultaneously restricting access to vital resources. The essay provides insights into how survival and endurance within a community can create barriers, affecting individuals’ ability to obtain necessary support and opportunities. It prompts a critical reflection on the interplay between communal identity, resource allocation, and social dynamics.
in The Routledge International Handbook of Working-Class Studies
Routledge, 2020
Locating Classed Subjectivities investigates the portrayal of social class in British fiction through spatial theory and analysis. This volume explores class-conscious texts from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. By examining how British writers used spatial aesthetics, the book reveals the nuanced dynamics of social class. It offers new perspectives on how authors employed spatial representations to comment on the complexities of class in British society.
in Working-Class Writing: Theory and Practice
Palgrave, 2018
“Look at the State of this Place” examines the convergence of domestic sanctuary and industrial labor sites within the kitchen sink realism genre. The essay explores how postwar class-conscious writing used the metaphorical kitchen sink as a symbol to articulate new modes of identity formation amidst urban constraints. By examining the interplay between domestic spaces and industrial landscapes, the essay shows how writers grappled with the limitations imposed by their surroundings and expressed the complexities of class and identity through these constraints.
in Working-Class Literature(s): Historical and International Perspectives
Stockholm University Press, 2017
This essay challenges the viability of a distinct “working-class” literary genre, arguing that class dynamics are far too fluid and elusive for the kind of aesthetic rigidity required by genre formation. It explores a diverse array of British texts to demonstrate that if any discernible conventions exist, they exist in tension and resonate through their resistance to classification. The essay emphasizes the complexity and ever-evolving nature of class dynamics, inviting readers to reconsider the limitations of genre-based classifications in understanding diverse literary expressions.
in The Journal of Working-Class Studies
Vol. 3 No. 1, 2018
This essay explores British architecture, focusing on the housing developments created after World War II to address the housing crisis. By analyzing Colin MacInnes’ trilogy of novels portraying postwar London, the essay highlights the sense of movement experienced by characters navigating the city’s evolving landscape. It tracks characters’ journeys from the city’s heart to its underbelly and ultimately to alienating high-rise structures, reflecting the emergence of gentrification as a term and its use in urban planning. Ultimately, the essay sheds light on the interconnected themes of urban transformation, displacement, and the impact of architectural structures on individual experiences.
PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP & ESSAYS
The Los Angeles Review of Books; August 28, 2024
The Los Angeles Review of Books; August 28, 2024
The Los Angeles Review of Books; April 3, 2019
The Los Angeles Review of Books; September 4, 2018
The Los Angeles Review of Books; December 11, 2014
The Los Angeles Review of Books; March 6, 2014
ON THE WORKBENCH
Nostalgia, often seen as a manipulative tool for evoking emotional responses, is a complex subject within cultural discourse. It is criticized for sentimentalizing and idealizing the past, often reflecting dissatisfaction with the present. While relatively benign in the commercial realm, nostalgia plays a central role in political manipulation, urging us to “take back control” or “make America great again.” David Lowenthal highlights how nostalgia can alienate us from present-day reality, a notion echoed by Mohsin Hamid in his critique of our culture’s nostalgia traps. Hamid warns that fiction should move beyond nostalgia to forge more productive paths forward. However, nostalgia has always been integral to storytelling, helping characters make sense of their present by looking back. This book, provisionally titled Rewriting the Past, explores how British literature from the early 20th century to the present uses nostalgia as a technical device while critiquing retrogressive sentimentality. By examining these literary techniques, the book offers a genealogical trajectory of nostalgia, asking readers to reflect on how this elusive emotional state influences our thinking about the present and the future.
This book-length project builds on the concepts and ideas developed in Kitchen Sink Aesthetics by testing the efficacy of representational methods established and developed during the postwar period. In particular, the book explores the way that working-class identities become fetishized objects, primed for commodification in a period in which concrete identities and identifications are difficult to ascertain. To accomplish this, the book considers developments of representational methods between the postwar period and the present, looking specifically at the way class is structured and marketed in contemporary media forms. Focusing on texts from the late-20th century to the present moment, Against Class Fetishism offers an array of readings of texts known to shape comprehensions of classed identity. In doing so, it calls into question the way late-stage capitalism positions identities as objects to be bought and sold.
This project, which is part cultural critique and part creative endeavor, explores the concept of the tunnel as a motif representing transition and spatial movement. The book delves into the existential narratives that frame our lives as we navigate through tunnel-like spaces and situations. It considers the notion of movement through passages and the inert role that such strictures play in shaping our collective psyche. It examines the emergence of tunneling in the context of modernist city planning and explores the aesthetic allure of the underground or subterranean environments. Additionally, the book explores themes of liminality, particularly the transformative implications associated with entering or exiting tunnel-like structures. In essence, the book investigates tunneling as a cultural practice intertwined with the sensory aspects of spatial navigation.
Crash Worship—an experimental performance-art group from San Diego, California (1986-1999)—is notably remembered for its confrontational and immersive events, articulated in one of their manifestos as "Concussion is part of the process of realignment and consecration." Crash Worship drew inspiration from a historical tradition of Sufi trance music originating in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, as indicated in another manifesto that sought to "make interested people aware of the roots of music/performance in religious rites and ceremony." Additionally, the group found influence in Andy Warhol's experimentation with sensory deprivation, exemplified by the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" (1966-1967), and the provocative "situations" associated with 1960s Viennese Actionism. The group also curated an impressive collection of crafted art, employing silk-screen processes on metals and carved wood, much of which was integrated into their performances. Furthermore, Crash Worship had direct affiliations with the chaos magic organization, "Thee Temple of Psychick Youth," (TOPY) utilizing the TOPY network for dissemination and incorporating TOPY practices, such as sigilization, adapted from the early 20th-century artist, Austin Osman Spare. Percussive Rituals represents a comprehensive, multi-phase initiative encompassing the creation and maintenance of a multimedia archive and an extensive art-book project under the guise of performance studies.
This essay examines Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting with a focus on the novel’s engagement with themes of precarity in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. It explores how the text delves into the affective and emotional impacts of precarity, portraying characters whose lives are profoundly shaped by economic instability. Through a close analysis of their poor decision-making, the essay argues that Murray uses these flawed choices to illustrate the pervasive sense of insecurity that defines contemporary existence. By dissecting the ways in which Murray’s characters navigate their precarious circumstances, the essay highlights the broader social and psychological ramifications of living in an era marked by financial uncertainty. The narrative reveals how the constant threat of economic instability affects individuals’ ability to make sound decisions, leading to a cycle of poor choices that further entrench their precarity. Ultimately, the essay contends that The Bee Sting offers a poignant critique of our current conditions, suggesting that our collective way of operating is fundamentally compromised by the pervasive sense of precariousness that characterizes modern life.