Richard John Parish (1948-2022) was a scholar of French literature. He was Professor of French at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

between 1996 and 2015.

Career

Born in 1948, Parish was educated at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

, graduating with a BA in 1970."Richard John Parish"
''Centro Interdipartimentale di Studi su Pascal e il Seicento'' (

University of Catania The University of Catania () is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest in the world. With over 38,000 enrolled students, it is the largest uni ...

). Retrieved 15 December 2019. He then completed his

doctoral studies A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

; his

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

was awarded in 1974 for his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

"The

abbé de Choisy ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

(1644–1724): a historical and critical study". Parish was appointed to a

lectureship Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. ...

at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

in 1973; he returned to Oxford in 1976 when he was elected a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

and tutor in French at St Catherine's College and appointed to a university lectureship. He was awarded the title of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of French in 1996 and retired in 2015, since when he has been an

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

professor. He was appointed an ''officier'' of the French

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

in 2001 and was promoted to the grade of ''Commandeur'' in 2012. He gave the

Bampton Lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have sometimes been biennial ...

in 2009.William Burgwinkle, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Wilson (eds.), ''The Cambridge History of French Literature'' (Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. xx. He died on 1 January 2022.

Selected publications

Monographs

* ''Pascal's Lettres Provinciales: A Study in Polemic'' (Oxford:

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1989). * ''Racine: The Limits of Tragedy'' (Paris, Seattle, Tubingen: Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, 1993). * ''Catholic Particularity in Seventeenth-Century French Writing: "Christianity is Strange"'' (Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2011).

Editions or translations of texts

* (ed.) ''Abbé de Choisy et Abbé de Dangeau: Quatre Dialogues: I. Sur l'lmmortaluté de l'Ame II. Sur l'Existence de Dieu III. Sur la Providence IV. Sur la Religion; suivis de Pierre Jurieu: Apologie d'un tour nouveau pour les Quatre Dialogues de M. l'abbé de Dangeau'' (Fribourg: Éditions universitaires, 1981). * (ed.) ''Moliere, Le Tartuffe'' (Bristol: Bristol Classical Texts, 1994). * (ed.) ''Racine, Berenice'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1994). * (ed.) ''Racine, Phedre'' (London: Bristol Classical Texts, 1996). * (ed.) ''Scarron: Le Roman Comique'', Critical Guides to French Texts, no. 119 (Valencia: Grant and Cutler, 1999). * (ed.) ''Jean de La Bruyère t Louis-Ellies du Pin Dialogues posthumes sur le quiétisme'' (Grenoble: Jérôme Millon, 2005). * (ed.) ''Éloge et pensées de Pascal: édition établie par Condorcet, annotée par Voltaire'' (Oxford:

Voltaire Foundation The Voltaire Foundation is a research department of the University of Oxford, founded by Theodore Besterman in the 1970s. It publishes the definitive edition of the ''Complete Works of Voltaire'' (''Œuvres complètes de Voltaire''), as well as ' ...

, 2008).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, R. J. Living people 1948 births Scholars of French literature Alumni of Newcastle University Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Liverpool Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Academics of the University of Oxford Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques