Papers by James Walker
Journal of D.H. Lawrence Studies , 2024
If you arrived in Eastwood for the first time, you would find numerous literary references celebr... more If you arrived in Eastwood for the first time, you would find numerous literary references celebrating Lawrence's legacy. Get off the Trent Barton Rainbow One Bus service, a reference to his iconic 1915 novel, and you are immediately greeted by the likes of the Lawrence Veterinary Centre or Lawrence Furniture, both alluding to his love of animals and homemaking. For those wishing to quench payday thirst, there's The Lady Chatterley, a Wetherspoon's pub whose name was decided by public vote a decade ago. Most of these references have been determined by individual businesses and suggest locals are keen to capitalise on Lawrence's name. However, when it comes to more tangible heritage, as in buildings and places that have historical meaning, the picture is more complex. The cost-of-living crisis has resulted in eleven councils, including Nottingham, submitting section 114 notices (this is when forecast income is insufficient to meet forecast spending for the next year). Prior to this was austerity. The National Audit Office estimated in 2018 that English local authorities' spending power fell by 29% in real terms between 2010/11 and 2017/18: 1 all of which means that heritage is under threat, either due to councils selling off assets or saving on the costs of maintaining properties. On the other hand, in June 2024, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) published a report on the 'Experience Economy' which accounts for a whopping £134 billion of the UK economy. 2 This suggests financial opportunities as well as cultural ones. The purpose of this article is to audit some of Eastwood's literary assets and consider what can be done to preserve or develop them.
ELLA, 2025
D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) was a prolific writer who left Britain in 1919 and embarked on a 'savag... more D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) was a prolific writer who left Britain in 1919 and embarked on a 'savage pilgrimage' across the globe, refusing to own property or settle down. To celebrate Lawrence, and to try to make his work more accessible to students, I have embarked on a digital pilgrimage, whereby I produce a monthly video essay based on his letters. In 'Borrowed Time' I explore the various temporal paradoxes of this process. I read his letters in 'real' time, knowing what will happen, but experience them in the present. I hear him talking in the letters, but he cannot hear me. The video essay is a means of speaking back to him. Likewise, the production of the video essays are labour intensive which contrasts with
Makings Journal (Studio), 2022
D.H. Lawrence was a writer who Dyer (2001) describes as ‘nomadic to the point of frenzy’. He neve... more D.H. Lawrence was a writer who Dyer (2001) describes as ‘nomadic to the point of frenzy’. He never lived in the same place for more than two years and he never owned any property. Yet despite this, every couple of years or so there is talk of yet another statue being erected in his honour. D.H. Lawrence was not static. He was fluid. He was full of contradictions and has come to mean different things to each new generation.
This paper argues that any literary heritage which celebrates his life needs to reflect this restlessness in the design. My solution is a ‘moveseum’ called the D.H. Lawrence Memory Theatre, whereby Lawrence’s life is curated through artefacts.
The D.H. Lawrence Memory Theatre will have a physical existence – a work of art in its own right - retracing Lawrence’s ‘savage pilgrimage’ across the globe, as well as a digital existence, whereby it can be accessed across multiple platforms, devices and networks and in varying formats and lengths. It is being built and designed in collaboration with English dissertations students at Nottingham Trent University, thereby disrupting not only the structure and format of the traditional dissertation – the ways in which we test knowledge - but also encouraging them/us to think about the most appropriate way to celebrate literary heritage.
This paper argues that any literary heritage which celebrates his life needs to reflect this restlessness in the design. My solution is a ‘moveseum’ called the D.H. Lawrence Memory Theatre, whereby Lawrence’s life is curated through artefacts.
The D.H. Lawrence Memory Theatre will have a physical existence – a work of art in its own right - retracing Lawrence’s ‘savage pilgrimage’ across the globe, as well as a digital existence, whereby it can be accessed across multiple platforms, devices and networks and in varying formats and lengths. It is being built and designed in collaboration with English dissertations students at Nottingham Trent University, thereby disrupting not only the structure and format of the traditional dissertation – the ways in which we test knowledge - but also encouraging them/us to think about the most appropriate way to celebrate literary heritage.
: Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Volume 11, Number 2, 2018, pp. 267-273(7), 2018
The traditional essay has long established itself as a stable and reliable assessment within high... more The traditional essay has long established itself as a stable and reliable assessment within higher education. However, it reinforces an uneven power balance whereby the tutor passes judgement on a student’s written work according to a set of criteria. Drawing on the work of Fiona English, I have experimented with a ‘visual essay’ assessment as this affords students more opportunities to express their knowledge. They write this from the perspective of a literary figure, so that they are able to have a more emotional relationship with the text they are studying. To demonstrate this process I put forward my argument from the perspective of Arthur Seaton, the anti-hero of Alan Sillitoe’s 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'.
Journal of D.H. Lawrence Studies. Vol 6 (1), 2021
D.H. Lawrence lived a nomadic life and refused to own property. Once he left the UK in 1919, he n... more D.H. Lawrence lived a nomadic life and refused to own property. Once he left the UK in 1919, he never lived in the same place for more than two years. This paper argues that any heritage that attempts to celebrate Lawrence must be fluid and dynamic in order to capture his restless spirit. My proposal is a moveseum called The D.H. Lawrence Memory Theatre.
Digital Culture and Education in a Time of Crisis - Reflections on Covid-19, 2020
Covid-19 has disrupted education, meaning tutors are trying to find innovative ways of engaging w... more Covid-19 has disrupted education, meaning tutors are trying to find innovative ways of engaging with students as teaching moves online. Vital to this success is creating learning environments that are spaces for cognition rather than information. This paper argues that Instagram has the potential to build community, provide co-authoring of learning, and act as a continuous feedback loop to improve student confidence.
Creative Academic Magazine aims to explore the ways in which creativity works. In this article, e... more Creative Academic Magazine aims to explore the ways in which creativity works. In this article, especially commissioned for World Creativity and Innovation Week, James explores the motivations and context that inspired the creation of his literary graphic novel serial Dawn of the Unread.
The Hummer: Myths and Consumer Culture, Apr 2007
A semiotic analysis of the SUV/Hummer that adapts Jeffords (1994) thesis of the use of 'hard bod... more A semiotic analysis of the SUV/Hummer that adapts Jeffords (1994) thesis of the use of 'hard bodies' in Hollywood films to find 'magical resolutions' to national problems and asks what 'magical resolutions' the Hummer offers to consumers.
The Public Sphere, Dec 2009
Le Parkour is a hybridized leisure activity that incorporates elements from gymnastics and break-... more Le Parkour is a hybridized leisure activity that incorporates elements from gymnastics and break-dancing to enable elegant and graceful movement over ‘obstacles’ found in the urban environment. Based on a 3 month ethnography with a group of Parkour enthusiasts from Nottingham, this short paper explores how it this it is used to reclaim the body and the implications this has for health and identity
FlowTV, Jul 22, 2005
As communication systems diversify and expand they produce more information space. Celebrity cult... more As communication systems diversify and expand they produce more information space. Celebrity culture helps to fill the insatiable void created by this emerging information economy, and within this we see hierarchies emerge — perhaps even a celetariat, as the media becomes the dominant form of production.
Talk for BBC Radio 3 series The Essay: In Praise of the Midlands in which five writers explored t... more Talk for BBC Radio 3 series The Essay: In Praise of the Midlands in which five writers explored the distinctive history and culture of the English Midlands. This essay outlined Nottingham's rich, rebellious history through literature.
Digital graphic novel Dawn of the Unread was created in response to alarming literacy statistics ... more Digital graphic novel Dawn of the Unread was created in response to alarming literacy statistics in the UK. This Conference talk outlines how digital media can engage a 'youtube generation' of reader supposedly no longer interested in reading.
Beyond Crisis: Visions for the New Humanities was a conference held at Durham University to explo... more Beyond Crisis: Visions for the New Humanities was a conference held at Durham University to explore the future of the digital humanities. Dawn of the Unread outlined a 10 point manifesto for new ways to engage students and join up disciplines within the humanities.
Dawn of the Unread is an interactive graphic novel targeting reluctant teenage readers and involv... more Dawn of the Unread is an interactive graphic novel targeting reluctant teenage readers and involved NTU students across the School of Arts and Humanities. It was featured in the Annual Report as an example of Best Practice.
Book Reviews by James Walker
Journal of D.H. Lawrence Studies, 2020
Outline of innovative digital project curating Lawrence's life through artefacts