Pim Higginson

Pim Higginson serves as Professor of French within the Department of Languages, Cultures and Literatures at the University of New Mexico, where he has taught for over 20 years. His seminars span 20th-21st century French/Francophone literatures, music and race relations, neo-orientalism, Francophone African novels, Caribbean literature, and French film noir.

Higginson's academic background includes:

• Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley (1997)
• B.A. in Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley (1990)
• Culinary Arts Program, Contra Costa College (1986-1987)
• Studies at Berklee College of Music (1982-1983)

His research centers on Global Francophone cultures with emphasis on African American literatures, Jazz Studies, Black Atlantic dynamics, Postcolonial theory, Foodways, and Trans-Pacific Studies. Higginson investigates intersections of race, music, and literature across Atlantic and Pacific spheres, particularly examining crime fiction's evolution in Francophone Africa and culinary representations in novels. His work bridges literary analysis with cultural anthropology, highlighting transnational exchanges between Africa, the Americas, and France.

Recent publications reveal consistent focus on Francophone African literary production, especially crime fiction's engagement with jazz aesthetics and alcohol symbolism. These studies position his scholarship at the nexus of postcolonial theory, transnational cultural studies, and literary criticism, demonstrating how marginalized genres negotiate colonial legacies and construct diasporic identities.

Though no specific awards are documented, Higginson has authored two seminal monographs: The Noir Atlantic: Chester Himes and the Birth of the Francophone African Crime Novel (Liverpool University Press, 2011) and Scoring Race: Jazz, Fiction, and Francophone Africa (Boydell and Brewer, 2017). His current projects include analyzing food/drink representations in Francophone novels and pioneering research on Francophone South Pacific cultures (New Caledonia, Tahiti, Vanuatu).