Dr Lynn Turner

Lynn explores how animal and sexual differences matter in visual and aural culture

Staff details

Position

Reader in Visual Cultures/co-Head of Department

Department

Visual Cultures

Email

l.j.turner (@gold.ac.uk)

Links

Lab/research
youtube.com/watch?v=zo-8oRAvVps

Lab/research
youtube.com/watch?v=oBguK3Gtv6k&t=107s

Website
goldsmiths.academia.edu/LynnTurner

Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups

Lynn Turner’s research explores how animal and sexual differences matter in visual and aural culture through drawing on continental philosophy, literature and psychoanalysis.

She is the co-Head of Department of Visual Cultures 2022-2025.

Academic qualifications

PhD Cultural Studies (University of Leeds) 2002
MA Cultural Studies (University of Leeds 1995
BA (Hons.) Fine Art (Newcastle Polytechnic - now the University of Northumbria) 1990

Teaching and supervision

As co-HoD, Lynn's teaching is restricted. This academic year she also co-leads the PhD in Visual Culture and convenes the associated seminars. She has taught modules on sexual poetics and the animal question in visual culture as well as contributing to core delivery on the history of art and visual culture.

Being part of the department’s research clusters on ‘Environmental Humanities and Ecologies,’ ‘Sexes, Genders, Genres,’ and ‘Philosophy, Critical and Visual Theory,’ Dr Lynn Turner currently supervises doctoral theses on: lubrication, surrogacy, breath, hysteria and yoga. She welcomes proposals for research on deconstruction; animal studies; plant studies; feminist philosophy; contemporary visual culture; aural culture particularly the voice/speech relation, and science fiction.

She has examined PhD theses at Goldsmiths, Westminster, the Courtauld, UCL, Cardiff, Kingston and Linköping (Sweden).

Research interests

She is the editor of Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-affection after Derrida (EUP, 2024); author of Poetics of Deconstruction: on the threshold of differences (Bloomsbury, 2020); co-editor, with Undine Sellbach and Ron Broglio, of The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies (EUP, 2018), editor of The Animal Question in Deconstruction (EUP, 2013), co-author, with Astrid Schmetterling, of Visual Cultures As... Recollection (Sternberg, 2013) and co-editor, with Lindsay Kelley, of a special issue of parallax called 'bon appetit,' (2013).

Lynn is developing a further monograph with the working title of Consanguineous: essays on art, literature and the living, and would love to have the research time for another book between botany, art history, theology and philosophy on fig leaves.

She is one of the assistant editors of Derrida Today and sits on the board of several book series as well as Goldsmiths Press.

Featured publications

2024: Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida

2020: Poetics of Deconstruction: on the threshold of differences

2018: The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies

2021: How like a (fig) leaf: supplanting shame, growing differences

2016: Critical Companions: Derrida, Haraway & Other Animals

Grants and awards

2007: AHRC Research Leave Scheme

2010: BA Overseas Travel Grant

Publications and research outputs

Book

Poetics of Deconstruction: On the Threshold of Differences Turner, Lynn. 2020. Poetics of Deconstruction: On the Threshold of Differences. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781350128590
Visual Cultures As Recollection Schmetterling, Astrid and Turner, Lynn. 2013. Visual Cultures As Recollection. Berlin: Sternberg Press. ISBN 978-3-943365-40-5

Edited Book

Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida Turner, Lynn, ed. 2024. Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781399539739
The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies Turner, Lynn; Sellbach, Undine and Broglio, Ron, eds. 2018. The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474418416
The Animal Question in Deconstruction Turner, Lynn, ed. 2013. The Animal Question in Deconstruction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748683123

Edited Journal

Bon Appetit Turner, Lynn and Kelley, Lindsay, eds. 2013. Bon Appetit, Parallax, 19(1). 1353-4645
Random Figures Turner, Lynn; Swiboda, Marcel and Simonds, Cylena, eds. 2002. Random Figures, Parallax, 8(1). 1353-4645
‘Immanent Trajectories’ Turner, Lynn; Swiboda, Marcel and Simonds, Cylena, eds. 2001. ‘Immanent Trajectories’, Parallax, 7(4). 1353-4645

Book Section

'The becoming literary of the clitoral: the inclination of sexual différance after Artemisia Gentileschi' Turner, Lynn. 2025. 'The becoming literary of the clitoral: the inclination of sexual différance after Artemisia Gentileschi'. In: , ed. Repenser la différance sexuelle. Paris: Editions Hermann.
Resistencia sanguínea: Soñando un futuro para la sangre Turner, Lynn. 2025. Resistencia sanguínea: Soñando un futuro para la sangre. In: , ed. Derridian (In)Politicities. Peripheral Readings of Deconstruction in the Streets. Buenos Aires: Ubu Ediciones.
Sanguine Resistance: dreaming of a future for blood Turner, Lynn. 2024. Sanguine Resistance: dreaming of a future for blood. In: Lynn Turner, ed. Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781399539739

Lapping it up: an introduction for these erotics of deconstruction Turner, Lynn. 2024. Lapping it up: an introduction for these erotics of deconstruction. In: Lynn Turner, ed. Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781399539739
Red Threads Turner, Lynn. 2023. Red Threads. In: , ed. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!: towards a feminist criminology. Berlin: Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien.
How like a (Fig) leaf Turner, Lynn. 2020. How like a (Fig) leaf. In: , ed. Beyond Plant Blindness: Seeing the importance of plants for a sustainable world. Berlin: Green Box Publishing. ISBN 978-3-96216-001-2
Carefree: Scenographies of Care Turner, Lynn. 2020. Carefree: Scenographies of Care. In: Rebecca Jagoe and Sharon Kivland, eds. On Care. London: Ma Bibliothèque, pp. 237-241. ISBN 9781910055717
Voice Turner, Lynn. 2018. Voice. In: Lynn Turner; Undine Sellbach and Ron Broglio, eds. The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474418416
Introducing The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies Turner, Lynn; Broglio, Ronald and Sellbach, Undine. 2018. Introducing The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies. In: , ed. The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies. (592) Edinburgh, Scotland.: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 1-12. ISBN 1474418414
Telefoam: species on the shores of Cixous and Derrida Turner, Lynn. 2016. Telefoam: species on the shores of Cixous and Derrida. In: Stefan Herbrechter; Ivan Callus and Manuela Rossini, eds. European Posthumanism. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 56-69. ISBN 9781138675780
Fort Spa: In at the Deep End with Derrida and Ferenczi Turner, Lynn. 2015. Fort Spa: In at the Deep End with Derrida and Ferenczi. In: Simon Morgan Wortham and Chiara Alfano, eds. Desire in Ashes: Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, Philosophy. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 103-119. ISBN 9781472533517
‘Animal Melancholia: on the scent of Dean Spanley’ Turner, Lynn. 2015. ‘Animal Melancholia: on the scent of Dean Spanley’. In: Michael Lawrence and Laura McMahon, eds. Animal Life and the Moving Image. London: British Film Institute/Bloomsbury, pp. 134-151. ISBN 9781844578993
Critical Companions: Derrida, Haraway & Other Animals Turner, Lynn. 2015. Critical Companions: Derrida, Haraway & Other Animals. In: Julian Wolfreys, ed. Introducing Criticism in the 21st Century, 2nd Edition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748695294
Insect Asides Turner, Lynn. 2013. Insect Asides. In: , ed. The Animal Question in Deconstuction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 54-69. ISBN 0748683135
Fort-dancing Turner, Lynn. 2010. Fort-dancing. In: , ed. BA Fine Art & History of Art degree show catalogue 2010. London: Goldsmiths, pp. 5-7. ISBN 978-1-906897-04-8
The course of a general displacement, or, The course of the choreographer Turner, Lynn. 2009. The course of a general displacement, or, The course of the choreographer. In: Martin McQuillan and Ika Willis, eds. The Origins of Deconstruction. Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 50-66. ISBN 9780230581906
Seeks-Zoos: some recent correspondence between animals Turner, Lynn. 2009. Seeks-Zoos: some recent correspondence between animals. In: Johnny Golding, ed. The Issues in Contemporary Culture & Aesthetics. 2-3 University of Greenwich, pp. 10-21.
Des Jeunes Nées : for a confusion of the tongue, the lip, and the rim Turner, Lynn. 2005. Des Jeunes Nées : for a confusion of the tongue, the lip, and the rim. In: Johnny Golding, ed. The Issues: In Contemporary Culture and Aesthetics. (1) Nerve Ltd, pp. 171-178. ISBN 0955003709

Article

Saying Ceanothus: The Indefinite Garden Turner, Lynn. 2025. Saying Ceanothus: The Indefinite Garden. Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture, ISSN 1756-9575
Ray of Light Turner, Lynn. 2025. Ray of Light. Textual Practice, ISSN 0950-236X
Flair du temps Turner, Lynn. 2025. Flair du temps. A Posteriori(36),

Conference or Workshop Item

The becoming literary of the clitoral: sexual differance after Artemisia Gentileschi Turner, Lynn. 2023. 'The becoming literary of the clitoral: sexual differance after Artemisia Gentileschi'. In: Rethinking Sexual Differance. Université Bordeaux Montaigne, France 22-24 November 2023.
Ray of Light Turner, Lynn. 2023. 'Ray of Light'. In: Nicholas Royle: A Symposium. University of Sussex, United Kingdom 23 June 2023.
Sanguine Resistance: dreaming of a future for blood Turner, Lynn. 2022. 'Sanguine Resistance: dreaming of a future for blood'. In: 7th Derrida Today Conference. Arizona State University (ASU) Barbara Barrett and Sandra Day O’Connor Washington Center, Washington, D.C., United States 12-15 June 2022.

Audio

PAPERWEIGHT RADIO: ANIMALS (S2, EP2) Turner, Lynn. 2014. PAPERWEIGHT RADIO: ANIMALS (S2, EP2).

Guerrilla Gardening

While my blog is quite outdated - http://guerillere.blogspot.com/ - there is a lot there documenting South London guerrilla planting, about which I have been interviewed by students from various disciplines. My greening practices today are mostly linked with the St John's Society's greening group and the Friendly St Gardens in Deptford.