Gemma Tidman

Dr Gemma Tidman is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary University of London. Her research focuses on early modern French literature and cultural history, with a particular emphasis on the intersection of play, education, and national identity. She holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford and previously held teaching posts at Worcester College and St John’s College, Oxford.

Her current book project, Playing on Words: A History of French Literary Play, 1635–1789, examines how literary games and wordplay engaged diverse publics across France and its colonies. Her first monograph, The Emergence of Literature in Eighteenth-Century France, explores how modern concepts of literature emerged from debates about school curricula. She also brings digital methodologies and visual culture analysis into her research and teaching.

Dr Tidman has published in leading journals such as French Studies and Romanic Review, and is a 2023 BBC-AHRC New Generation Thinker. Her work bridges academic rigor with public engagement, addressing issues like colonial history and anti-racist activism through media appearances and accessible scholarship.