Catriona Jane Seth, FBA is a British scholar of French literature and the history of ideas. Since 2015, she has been Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
Seth in 2016
Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature
The position of Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford was founded in 1918 shortly after the end of the First World War. Ferdinand Foch, or "Marshal Foch", was supreme commander of Allied forces from April 1918 onwards. The chair was endowed by an arms trader, Basil Zaharoff, in Foch's honour; he also endowed a post in English Literature at the University of Paris in honour of the British Field Marshal Earl Haig. Zaharoff wanted the University of Paris to have a right of veto over the appointment, but Oxford would not accept this. The compromise reached was that Paris should have a representative on the appointing committee. In advance of the first election, Stéphen Pichon unsuccessfully attempted to influence the decision. The first professor, Gustave Rudler, was appointed in 1920. As of 2015, the chair is held by Catriona Seth. The position is held in conjunction with a Fellowship of All Souls College.
Marshal Foch, in whose honour the professorial chair is named