MICHAEL JAMES PYPER

Home: 102 Clonliffe Road, University: Trinity College Dublin 3, Dublin 2 Ireland Ireland Tel: +353 86 304 8576 Email: pyperm@tcd.ie

Tel: +353 1 896 100

RESEARCH My research interests draw upon my background in the study of both German and Spanish. I am particularly interested in theorizing modernity through the intersection of literary and philosophical texts. My research to date has focused on Kafka, although I also have a more general interest in German language Modernism. I also have a particular interest in Cervantes Don Quixote as a founding text of modernity. Over the course of my Doctorate I have acquired a very keen interest in both psychoanalytic and critical theory, in particular the work of Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zizek and Gilles Deleuze. EDUCATION October 2008-Present: Trinity College, Dublin PhD, Modernity: from the Quixotic to the Kafkaesque, Department of Germanic Studies, Trinity College Dublin Supervisor: Dr. Caitriona Leahy In my doctoral thesis, Cervantes and Kafka are considered as theorists of modern subjectivity. Psychoanalytic theories of masochism are used to explore the tendency of the subject, within both its epistemological and juridical-political capacities, towards self-nullification, and this tendency is illustrated in the work of both authors. Several key theorists of modernity, including Foucault, Deleuze, Agamben and Zizek, serve as a point of comparison in order to highlight how Cervantes and Kafka theorize modernity. October 2006-September 2007: Trinity College Dublin M.Phil, Peace Studies Modules included: Peace Theory, Human Rights, The Idea of Europe, Introduction to Islam, Politics of Northern Ireland Dissertation: Orhan Pamuks Idea of Europe 72% October 2001-June 2006: Trinity College, Dublin

MICHAEL JAMES PYPER

B.A. (Hons.) German and Spanish First Class Honours including Distinction in spoken Spanish and German Dissertation: Cervantes, Kafka and the Problem of Truth 75% Relevant Modules Included: Introduction to Kafka, Vienna Modernism, Don Quixote Part I

ACADEMIC AWARDS June 2009: Awarded IRCHSS Postgraduate Scholarship worth 16,000 per annum June 2008: Awarded Trinity College Dublin Postgraduate Studentship worth 8,000 per annum June 2006: Awarded Henry Hutchinson Literary Scholarship for Undergraduate Dissertation May 2003: Elected Non-Foundation Scholar of Trinity College April 2003: Awarded scholarship worth 6,000 from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to pursue a research project in Berlin, Germany. June 2002: Awarded Ernst Scheyer Prize for obtaining first place in Junior Freshman German examinations October 2001: Received Entrance Exhibition Award CONFERENCES September 2009: The Quixotic Legacy of the Centered Subject in Kafkas Das Urteil, Conference of the European Comparative Literature Association, Vilnius Pedagogical University November 2009: Chaired panel on Kafka at the Comparative Literature Association of Ireland Conference, Trinity College Dublin February 2010: Masochism in Don Quixote, Self Selves and Sexualities Conference, Dublin City University November 2010: Kafkas Judgment of the Feminine, Comparative Literature Association of Ireland Conference, University of Limerick January 2011: Kafka and the Monstrous Postgraduate Forum, Trinity College Dublin Feminine, SLCS

MICHAEL JAMES PYPER

March 2011: Kafkas two Fathers, IGRS Postgraduate Research Colloquium, School of Advanced Study, London LANGUAGE SKILLS German: Reading (Fluent); Writing (Fluent); Speaking (Fluent) Spanish: Reading (Fluent); Writing Very proficient; Speaking Very proficient Dutch: Reading Fluent; OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE September 2007-September 2008: Bord Bia, Amsterdam Job title: Marketing Assistant Relevant responsibilities: Dutch food industry news monitoring translating shorter articles into English and summarising longer articles from a variety of Dutch language industry news sources I developed a weekly news brief on the Dutch livestock trade to be distributed among Irish live exporters. Writing this report involved researching various Dutch language websites, identifying key information and presenting it weekly as a 2-page report. Other responsibilities: Compiling and editing market research reports; assisting with the organisation and running of promotions and other events; corresponding with clients; processing monthly accounts. REFERENCES Available upon request