Harry Carter
I work on songs and lyrics, mainly those of Song dynasty China (960–1279 CE), Greek and Roman antiquity, and medieval Western Europe. By examining song lyrics from different traditions in a comparative framework, I try to clarify aspects of how they work that remain blurry or invisible when they are considered in isolation. I have recently given papers on comparative song-lyric poetics at the (Leeds, June 2022), at the (Montreal, March 2024), and at (April 2024). In winter 2025 I will be co-teaching a class on with .
I am also interested in the permeable and productive border between song lyrics and poetry. In March 2023 I gave a paper at the (Chicago), arguing that medieval European fin’amor song lyrics and ci 詞 song lyrics departed radically and self-consciously from the poetic ideals of their times. In an article of mine published in , I argue that Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) brings his songwriting expertise to bear on his approach to writing narrative poetry. In Spring 2024, I co-designed and co-taught a class called , with Marisa Galvez. We were interviewed about the class by . For autumn 2024, I have designed a class called .
In the academic year 2021–2022 I was Vice Chair of the research collective, which organises seminars, conferences and workshops to enable interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars of premodern literature. In 2024-25, I am one of the organisers of a new DLCL research unit called 'Comparative Methodologies', which seeks to encourage dialogue among a diversity of scholars who work 'comparatively', in one sense or another. Details of our events will be circulated soon!
I am a member of , a musical collaboration with and . The project tries to give new life to old lyrics, through settings, translations and reimaginings. Our most recent performance was at the conference at Princeton University, in April 2024.