James Gifford

James Gifford is Professor of Humanities in the School of Humanities and Director of the University Core at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Vancouver Campus. He also serves as Director of FDU Press, whose editorial offices relocated to FDU's Vancouver campus in 2017. Previously, he oversaw the University Core for FDU's Wroxton College in Britain and Chengdu Study Abroad Center in China. Gifford has held visiting professorships at l'Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (2017), Simon Fraser University's graduate program (2011-2012), and again in 2025 in the Graduate Liberal Studies program. From 2006-2008, he was an Assistant Professor (limited term) and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of English at the University of Victoria.

His educational background includes:

• PhD in English Literature from the University of Alberta
• MA in Humanities from California State University
• Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Humanities from Simon Fraser University
• BA in English from Simon Fraser University
• Diploma in Music from Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Professor Gifford's research interests span Transatlantic Modernism (British, American, Irish, and Canadian), colonialism and decolonization, prose and poetry, media studies, cultural studies, genetic criticism, anarchism, radical political thought, and opera. He has particular expertise in authors including Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller, Elizabeth Smart, T.S. Eliot, Ursula K. Le Guin, Aidan Higgins, and related figures. His work often explores intersections between modernist literature, anarchist thought, and the fantastic. Gifford has made significant contributions to the study of Lawrence Durrell, including critical editions of Durrell's works that have been praised in the Times Literary Supplement.

His scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on the intersections of modernism with political radicalism, particularly anarchism, and the fantastic. Gifford has pioneered research connecting modernist networks with anarchist thought, examining how literary movements and political ideologies intertwined in the 20th century. His work on textual criticism, particularly with authors like Durrell and Hemingway, shows meticulous attention to genetic criticism and the evolution of texts. The trajectory of his research reveals a movement from focused literary studies toward broader explorations of how literature intersects with political thought and cultural movements.

Professor Gifford has received significant recognition for his scholarly contributions:

• 2021 Distinguished Faculty Award for Research & Scholarship from Fairleigh Dickinson University
• 2020 Mythopoeic Award for Scholarship for his monograph "A Modernist Fantasy: Anarchism, Modernism, & the Radical Fantastic"

Gifford has been actively involved in editorial work and academic publishing, serving as Director of FDU Press since 2017. He has edited numerous collections, scholarly editions, and open educational resources, including critical editions of Lawrence Durrell's works, the first textual states of Ernest Hemingway's "In Our Time," the 1890 textual state of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and works of the 19th-century poet and travel writer Edward Taylor Fletcher. His editorial work has significantly contributed to the field of textual scholarship and literary recovery.

As Director of the University Core curriculum at FDU's Vancouver Campus, Professor Gifford oversees the foundational educational experience for students. His background in music and performance informs his interdisciplinary approach to humanities education. He has developed and taught courses in Modernism, Postcolonial Literature, Philosophy of Middle-earth, Political and Social History of Music, and Radical Political Thought, demonstrating his commitment to innovative and interdisciplinary humanities education.