Research Development Committee

Research Development Committee examines proposals for new ICLA Research Committees and also investigates other ways to stimulate and support research efforts of relevance to the work of the Association. Members of the Committee are normally appointed for three years, coinciding with periods between Congresses. The Chair of the Research Development Committee is appointed by the incoming President; other members are appointed in agreement by the President and the Chair, taking into consideration the balance of gender, age, geography, and expertise.

How to apply to form a new ICLA Research Committee

We especially encourage applications that address key research questions in comparative literature today and/or help fill gaps in the areas covered by existing committees, such as: digital humanities, race and ethnicity studies, cultural and social studies, geocriticism and ecocriticism, and postcolonial and world literature studies.

There are two types of ICLA research committee: short-term research committees and standing research committees.

A short-term research committee addresses a research question that can be effectively treated in a 3-year period. If the progress of the work justifies it, a short-term research committee may be renewed for a further three years, and then (exceptionally) for a third and final three-year term. Find further details here, together with the criteria for forming a short-term committee (PDF file).

Standing research committees concern themselves with substantial research areas of ongoing importance (examples from among the current standing committees are ‘Literary Theory’ and ‘Translation’). Find further details here, together with the criteria for forming a standing committee (PDF file).

Any AILC-ICLA member may apply to form a new research committee. To do so, please send your application to the Chair of Research Development Committee (matthew.reynolds@ell.ox.ac.uk). Applications received by 31st March in any given year – this year the deadline for formal applications has been extended to 20 May 2024 – will be considered by Research Development Committee in a gathered field. If a positive decision on your application is reached (possibly after requests for clarifications and further details), it will be forwarded, with a report by the Chair of the Research Committee, to the Executive Council for formal decision at its annual meeting.

Applications should consist of:

A short description of the proposed research, with a clear statement of the research question to be investigated (for short-term research committees) or research area of ongoing importance (for standing committees). 500 words maximum.
A more detailed description of the proposed research, including sections on overview of the project field, project rationale, objectives and plan/timeline for implementation, covering the first three years of the committee’s work. 2000 words maximum.
Initial composition of the committee, including short CVs (one page maximum per committee-member)
Brief bylaws of the research committee, detailing in particular the procedures for agreeing or electing the Chair and any other officers of the committee, and the procedures by which AILC-ICLA members may join the committee.
A brief account of how participation in the work of the committee may be facilitated for members who are unable to travel to physical meetings.
Information regarding the links of the project with both local and international institutions.
Information regarding measures to disseminate the committee’s research as widely as possible to ICLA members, including the use of open-access publication where possible, and to make the project visible to the wider intellectual community (media dissemination, outreach).

Once established, Research Committees submit annual reports of their activities to the Executive Council.

Members of the Research Development Committee (2019-22):

Chair:
Matthew Reynolds (Oxford) – matthew.reynolds@ell.ox.ac.uk

Members:
Baba Badji (Washington University in St Louis, Postgraduate Member)
Prof. Rosinka Chaudhuri (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta)
Prof. Anne Duprat (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
Prof. Toshiko Ellis (University of Tokyo)
Prof. Alessandro Grilli (Università di Pisa)
Prof. May Hawas (American University in Cairo)
Prof. Paolo Horta (NYU Abu Dhabi)
Prof. Marko Juvan (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences)
Dr Eugenia Kelbert-Rudan (HSE University, Moscow, and University of East Anglia, Early Career Member)
Prof. Tong King Lee (University of Hong Kong)
Prof. Wen-Chin Ouyang (SOAS, University of London)
Prof. Sowon Park (University of California Santa Barbara)

To download the yearly reports of the Committee to the ICLA, click below:

International Comparative Literature Association

Research Development Committee

How to apply to form a new ICLA Research Committee

Applications should consist of:

Members of the Research Development Committee (2019-22):

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