David Punter (born 19 November 1949, in

Harrow, London Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popula ...

) is Professor of English at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

.''Who’s Who 2011'', A&C Black, 2011 He is the author of many critical studies, and has been internationally recognised as an expert on Gothic culture.

Career

Punter's academic career commenced as a senior lecturer at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. He left in 1986 to take up the post of Professor of English and Head of Department at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

. In 1989 he was appointed Head of Department at the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built ...

in Scotland. In 2000 he moved to the

, where has been Graduate Dean and Research Director of the Faculty of Arts. Punter has published twenty-four critical books, four books of poetry, as well as hundreds of essays and articles. His major interest has been in

Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

and the wider culture of the Gothic. He has also published books on prose and poetry from the eighteenth century to the present day and literary theory,

deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essen ...

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

and ‘anti-canon theory’. In the role of Orator at the University of Bristol, Punter has delivered eulogies for the honorary degrees conferred on

Michael Eavis Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset. Personal life Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset and grew u ...

Julia Donaldson Julia Donaldson (born Julia Catherine Shields; born ) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

, and

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

Academic achievements

Punter obtained his BA, MA and PhD at

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , establish ...

. He has subsequently been awarded a DLitt for published work from the University of Stirling. He is a Fellow of the English Association (FEA); a Fellow of the Higher Education Association (FHEA); a Fellow of the Institute for Contemporary Scotland (FCS); a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (Scotland) (FSAScot); and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Punter currently represents the University of Bristol on the Culture, Arts and Humanities Task force of the Coimbra Group of European Universities. At Bristol he was responsible for the establishment of the Bristol Institute for Research in the Humanities and Arts. Punter chairs the executive board of the International Gothic Association, as well as the editorial board of its journal, ''Gothic Studies''.

Major publications

Academic

*''The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day'', 1980; republished in two volumes 1996, Longman, Vol. 1: ''The Gothic Tradition'', Vol. 2: ''The Modern Gothic'', *''Romanticism and Ideology: Studies in English Writing 1765-1830'' (with David Aers and Jonathan Cook), 1981, Routledge & Kegan Paul, *''Blake, Hegel and Dialectic'', 1982, Amsterdam, Rodopi, *''The Hidden Script: Writing and the Unconscious'', 1985, Routledge & Kegan Paul, *''Introduction to Contemporary Cultural Studies'' (ed.), 1986, Longman, *''William Blake: Selected Poetry and Prose'', ed., 1988, Routledge, *''The Romantic Unconscious: A Study in Narcissism and Patriarchy'', 1989, New York University Press, *''Selected Poems of Philip Larkin: Notes'', 1991, Longman, *''William Blake: New Casebook'', ed., 1996, Macmillan, *''Gothic Pathologies: The Text, the Body and the Law'', 1998, Longman, *''Spectral Readings: Towards a Gothic Geography'', ed., with Glennis Byron, 1999, Palgrave Macmillan, *''A Companion to the Gothic'', ed., 2000. Blackwell, *''Writing the Passions'', 2000, Longman, *''Postcolonial Imaginings: Fictions of a New World Order'', 2000, Edinburgh University Press, *The Whitsun Weddings' and Selected Poems'', Philip Larkin, 2003, Pearson Education, *''William Blake's 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience, 2003, Longman, *''The Gothic'' (with Glennis Byron), 2004, John Wiley & Sons, *''The Influence of Postmodernism on Contemporary Writing: An Interdisciplinary Study'' (otherwise known as ''Writing in the Twenty-First Century''), 2005, Blackwell, *''Metaphor'', 2007, Routledge, ) *''The Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom'', ed., 2007,

Valancourt Books Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and hor ...

, *''Modernity'', 2007, Palgrave Macmillan,

Poetry

*''China and Glass'', 1985 *''Lost in the Supermarket'', 1987 *''Little Red Riding Hood'', 1804 *''Asleep at the Wheel'', 1996, Amani, *''Selected Short Stories'', 1999. Hub Editions,

Stories

*"Carving," '' Exotic Gothic 4'', 2012, ed. Danel Olson, PS Publishing,

References

External links

David Punter, University of Bristol website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Punter, David 1949 births Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of Bristol English literary critics British literary theorists Living people People from Harrow, London Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fellows of the English Association Fellows of the Higher Education Academy