About

I am a teacher, lecturer and author in 20th century and contemporary literature. My 2016 book A Poetics of Trauma after 9/11 focused on trauma and memory in contemporary culture, exploring the entanglement of intimate vulnerability and virtual spectacle that is typical of the globalized present. Currently I am interested in the politics of literature, and published my second book, The Politics of Literature in a Divided 21^st Century, in July 2020. I have taught at the Universität Augsburg in Germany and the University of Texas at Austin in the US, and have held research fellowships at the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies and the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library.

I am interested in developing opportunities for public outreach. My experience in secondary education  is a key asset in this, and besides full-time appointments at secondary schools, I have worked with the educational charity Brilliant Club. I also publish journalistic articles alongside more traditionally  academic texts, for instance as associate editor with the literary magazine Litro. I also served as European editor with the Blog ‘U.S. Studies Online’, curating topics of international interest for the British Association of American Studies’ PhD and early careers’ forum.