I joined York St John as a Lecturer in American Literature at York St John in 2011. I became a Senior Lecturer in 2013, and was subsequently appointed as Subject Director and then later Associate Head of School for English Literature. Since May 2022, I am the Interim Head of School for Humanities, and am responsible for overseeing the successful running of the School. Previously, I worked at the University of Central Lancashire, where I spent two years as a Lecturer in American Studies and English Literature.
My main area of interest is early twentieth-century American Literature. I completed my PhD at the University of Sheffield where I also held a part-time Teaching Fellowship for 3 years. My thesis examined the work of writers such as Edith Wharton, Ellen Glasgow, Gertrude Stein, Fannie Hurst and Zora Neale Hurston in terms of literature, consumerism and the articulation of female identity. My research interests are fairly broad but are always connected to American literature and culture, and I have published on a variety of topics, including the rise of the 'femoir', Mae West's comedy novels, Colson Whitehead's speculative fiction, and Edith Wharton and fashion. My current project involves exploring representations of the First Lady in literature, film, and culture.
Outreach and widening participation is very important to me, and I worked as a Literature tutor for the Villiers Park Educational Trust in Cambridge for 15 years. The Trust aims to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider going to university, and I was one of the tutors on the English Literature residential weeks, which took place twice a year. I was also the Lead Researcher for their online activities project for English Literature. In 2010 I successfully applied for the Fulbright Commission's American Studies Summer Institute, which involved spending a month studying at New York University. I remain part of the Fulbright community and spent 8 years as elected member of the Fulbright Alumni Council.
