Leslie Barnes

Leslie Barnes is an Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Languages & Linguistics at the Australian National University, where her research examines film and literature in French-speaking Southeast Asia with critical attention to gender, labour, and migration within (post)colonial frameworks. She founded and convenes the Asie du Sud Est Research Network, a consortium of 14 universities across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, and serves as Education Advisor for the Alliance Française de Canberra.

Education:

• PhD in French and Francophone Studies, University of California at Los Angeles (2004-2010)

Her scholarly work centers on 20th- and 21st-century Francophone literature and film, particularly exploring trauma and memory studies, immigrant writers, and contemporary metafiction. She investigates how literary and cinematic representations mediate neocolonial dynamics in Cambodia and Vietnam, interrogating the intersections of gender, labour migration, and historical memory through close textual analysis.

Recent publications reveal consistent thematic focus on Southeast Asian contexts, with recurring examinations of diasporic identity, postcolonial legacies, and the symbolic dimensions of labour and migration. Her work demonstrates particular attention to Vietnamese and Cambodian cultural production, often analyzing how fiction challenges dominant interpretive frameworks surrounding sex work, memory politics, and migrant experiences.

Scientific Awards:

• Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021)
• Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021)
• Programs that Enhance Student Learning Award (2023)
• ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Award (2020)
• ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Award (2022)

Barnes supervises PhD and Honours students on topics including Cambodian gender equality, historical memory of the S-21 prison, Vietnamese war cinema, and Francophone literary theory. She maintains active leadership roles as Vice President of the Australian Society for French Studies (2022-2024) and former Secretary (2019-2022), while serving on the editorial board of Liverpool University Press's Francophone Postcolonial Studies series (2018-2023).

As a core member of ANU's Migration Hub, she collaborates with interdisciplinary researchers on migration dynamics across Asia-Pacific. Her international engagement includes upcoming 2024 fellowships at The American University of Paris and Center for Khmer Studies, following previous appointments at New York University (2016) and University of London (2020).