Edward James (historian)
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Edward Frederick James (born 14 May 1947) is a British scholar of medieval history and science fiction. He is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at
University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
. James received the
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for his non-fiction book ''The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction'' (co-edited with
Farah Mendlesohn Farah Jane Mendlesohn (born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book '' Rhetorics of Fantasy'', which classifies fant ...
), and the
Pilgrim Award The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book '' Pilgrims Through Space ...
for lifetime contribution to SF and fantasy scholarship.


Biography

James was born in
Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...
, Warwickshire. He attended the
Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational Independent school (UK), independent day school in Solihull, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmi ...
and read Modern History at
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
(1965-1968). He completed postgraduate work at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford, 1968-1970, supervised by Professor
Christopher Hawkes Charles Francis Christopher Hawkes, FBA, FSA (5 June 1905 – 29 March 1992) was an English archaeologist specialising in European prehistory. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1946 to 1972. He was e ...
. James was awarded D.Phil in 1975, for a thesis entitled ‘South-West Gaul from the fifth to the eighth century: the contribution of archaeology’. He began teaching in 1970 at
University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
. He was a lecturer at the Department of Medieval History in University College Dublin from 1970 to 1978. He was a lecturer in early medieval history at the Department of History,
University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...
, 1978 to 1995, as well as Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York from 1990 to 1995. He was Professor of Medieval History at the
University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
from 1995 to 2004 and was a Director of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, 1999–2001. He retired in 2012.


Recognition

James is the recipient of the 2004
Pilgrim Award The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book '' Pilgrims Through Space ...
for lifetime contribution to science fiction and fantasy scholarship. He has also won the
Hugo Award for Best Related Work The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...
and a BSFA Award for Best Non-Fiction, in addition to multiple nominations for individual works.


Personal life

James married his fellow academic,
Farah Mendlesohn Farah Jane Mendlesohn (born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book '' Rhetorics of Fantasy'', which classifies fant ...
in 2001.


Selected works

* ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. Edited by James. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. () * ''The Origins of France: From Clovis to the Capetians, 500–1000''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982. . * ''The Franks''. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1988. . * ''The Profession of Science Fiction: SF Writers on their Craft and Ideas''. Edited by
Maxim Jakubowski Maxim Jakubowski (born 1944) is a crime, erotic, science fiction and rock music writer and critic. Jakubowski was born in 1944 in England to Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has tr ...
and James; foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. Insights series. Macmillan UK, 1992. ."Bibliography: The Profession of Science Fiction"
(1992 book). ISFDB. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. (. * ''Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. ) * ''The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction''. Edited by James and Farah Mendlesohn. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2003. . * ''Britain in the First Millennium''. London: Oxford University Press, 2001. . * ''Europe's Barbarians, AD 200–600''. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2009. . * ''A Short History of Fantasy''. Farah Mendlesohn and James. London: Middlesex University Press, 2009. . * ''The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature''. Edited by James and Farah Mendlesohn. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2012. .


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Edward 1947 births British medievalists British literary critics Science fiction academics Hugo Award-winning editors Academics of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of York Academics of the University of Reading Living people Male speculative fiction editors