James Alison

James Alison is Chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and Professor of French at the University of Chicago. He holds a PhD in French Literature from Columbia University and has held academic positions there and at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on 20th-21st century French literature, literary nonfiction, and experimental forms like Oulipo. He has received awards including the Ordre des Palmes Académiques and the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

Education: PhD (Columbia, 2005), MA (Cambridge, 1998). Key collaborations include founding the International Society for Fiction and Fictionality Studies and co-directing research projects on Oulipo and chance in literature. He has advised 4 PhD students and contributed to 12 more, directing 8 MA theses.

Awards highlight his teaching excellence and scholarly contributions. His articles explore autofiction, constraint-based writing, and narrative theory, appearing in top journals like Contemporary Literature and PMLA. He actively reviews for leading presses and academic institutions globally.