Professor Hugh Roberts

My teaching and research focus on the intersection between French literature and philosophy. My research has concentrated on the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries yet I have recently taken a new direction to pursue interests in the philosopher, social activist, and mystic, Simone Weil (1909-1943).

See Open Access publications:

'Simone Weil and George Herbert on Love through Poetry', Forum for Modern Lnaguage Studies, 59 (2023);

'An exiled poet adapts Plato: Théophile de Viau’s Traité de l’immortalité de l’âme and the Phaedo', International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 29 (2022).

I am also privileged to lead a project with my colleague Professor Helen Vassallo to facilitate translation and promotion of Ukrainian war poetry, with our project partners in Ukraine, the poet and translator Yuliya Musakovska and the poet and broadcaster Olena Huseinova. See our YouTube playlist.

The Translating Ukrainian War Poetry project emerges from 'Translating Cultures with UNESCO Cities of Literature', an event in July 2023 organized by LCVS with our friends at Exeter UNESCO City of Literature.

With the support of the University's Participatory Research Bridging Communities Fund, we organized 'Ukrainian War Poetry: Translating Experience' with the Devon Ukrainian Association in spring 2024.

We are now working towards a translation of the soldier-poet Artur Dron' by Yuliya Musakovskla and also plan to translate the prize-winning soldier-poet Yaryna Chornohuz and edit an anthology in English of the powerful poetry being published in Ukraine now.

Research supervision:

I am happy to discuss research proposals on any subject relating to my research and teaching interests.