Jack Rondeau

Profile

I joined the School of English as an MA student in 2020, where I worked on depictions of exile in the fiction of Dambudzo Marechera. In 2022 I began my PhD at the University of Leeds. My doctoral research is focused on depictions of aerial violence in contemporary South Asian literature. I focus on acts of violence that range from terrorist attacks, to the threat of nuclear warfare and the increasing reliance on the use of drones in contemporary warfare. My research is interdisciplinary and draws upon several different fields ranging from postcolonial studies, to the environmental humanities, geography studies, and critical theory.   

Research interests

My research studies mainly include: 

• South Asian studies
• Postcolonial and Declonial studies
• Environmental humanities 
• Psychoanalysis
• Critical Theory 
• Representations of Terrorism and Warfare

My current research is specifically focused on depictions of violence in and against airspaces. I consider how we might materialize air as an elemental force that is subject to its own forms of destruction. By considering the atmospheric implications of instances of aerial violence I attempt to create a planetary framework that identifies ethical measures to prevent global warfare. My focus on contemporary South Asian literature offers a balanced insight into forms of violence perpetrated by global, imperial forces as well as acts of retaliation. My thesis traces a history of aerial violence from practices of colonial rule in the early twentieth century, through to the US’s atomic bombings of Japan, and ultimately the ‘war on terror’. 

Qualifications

• BA in English Literature, University of Birmingham ( 2017-2020)
• MA in Postcolonial Literary and Cultural Studies (2020-2021)
• PhD, University of Leeds, (2022-present)