Malcolm McNaughtan Bowie FBA (; 5 May 1943 – 28 January 2007) was a British academic, and

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

from 2002 to 2006. An acclaimed scholar of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

, Bowie wrote several books on

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, as well as books on Mallarmé, Lacan, and psychoanalysis. Born in

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, Suffolk, Bowie attended

Woodbridge School Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September 1974. Histor ...

, and then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he gained an MA in 1965. He was awarded a DPhil at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1970. His research fields were French literature, psychoanalysis and the relationship between literature and the arts. He taught 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 ...

(1967–69),

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

(1969–76) and

Queen Mary College, London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. Bowie was elected to the Christ's Mastership in 2002, after spending ten years as Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature and

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. Before going on to the

Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages is a department of the University of Oxford, England. It is part of the university's Humanities Division. The Faculty offers various undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in European languages; no ...

, he held the Professorship of French Language and Literature at Queen Mary College (1976–92). While in London he was the Founding Director of the Institute of Romance Studies (1989–92), the

School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. In December 2006, he vacated the Mastership because of ill health, and was made an

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Fellow of Christ's. He was a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

and the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, a Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

, an Honorary Member of the Modern Language Association of America, and an Officier dans l'Ordre des

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...

. He served as President of the Society for French Studies, the British Comparative Literature Association, and the Association of University Professors of French, and held a Visiting Professorship at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and a Visiting

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

ship at the

CUNY , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

Graduate Center in New York. His ''Proust Among The Stars (1998)'' won the 2001 Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism.

References

* Clive Scott
'Professor Malcolm Bowie'
(Obituary), ''The Independent'' 5 Feb 2007. * Michael Sheringham

(Obituary), ''The Guardian'' 14 Feb 2007 * ''The Times'' 6 Feb 2007 (Obituary
'Professor Malcolm Bowie'
* ''The Daily Telegraph'' 5 Feb 2007 (Obituary
'Professor Malcolm Bowie'
* Bowie appears as a character, under his own name, in Stephen Henighan's novel ''The World of After''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowie, Malcolm 1943 births 2007 deaths English literary critics Literary critics of French Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Sussex Academics of the University of East Anglia Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Academics of Queen Mary University of London Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Masters of Christ's College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Members of Academia Europaea People from Aldeburgh Marshal Foch Professors of French Literature Scholars of French literature People educated at Woodbridge School