Michael Kelly

Professor Michael Kelly is Emeritus Professor of French in Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton.

Mike is a specialist in modern French culture and society, especially the history of ideas and intellectuals, and on public policy in the area of languages and language education, in the UK and in Europe more broadly.

He studied French at Warwick University (BA and PhD), and lectured at University College Dublin, before being appointed Professor of French at Southampton. Mike has at different times been Head of Modern Languages and Linguistics and Head of Humanities. He directed a number of major UK projects, including LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, Routes into Languages and Links into Languages. He has been a Board Member of the European Language Council since 1997. He has received honours from the French government for his work in promoting French studies, and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014 for his services to higher education and European cooperation. He took retirement from the University in 2016.

He is currently working on languages in war and conflict, and on public policy in relation to languages. He recently published an edited volume on Languages after Brexit (Palgrave, 2017).