Diversifying Victorian Studies: From Theory to Method.

In the wake of the BLM protests in summer 2020, calls to diversify nineteenth-century studies have been ringing out across the academy in the UK, Europe and North America. While most scholars agree on the necessity for such an endeavour, may scholar have been left wondering what this looks like in practice. How exactly do we go about diversifying our teaching and research? What resources and methods can help us do so? 

This round table event brings together a range of scholars from across different career stages in the UK, Europe and North America working in the area we can loosely define as the ‘global nineteenth century’ to discuss innovative research methods for expanding the archive of nineteenth-century literature to incorporate a more diverse range of communities and literatures. The scholars gathered will not only discuss ‘decolonial’ approaches to researching nineteenth-century literature but will also share resources and research tools that they have found useful in their own practice. Audience members will also be invited to share their own experiences ‘widening’ their nineteenth-century literature offerings, and to share any resources and tools they have found helpful.


Roundtable participants: 

• Dr Lara Atkin (University of Kent)
• Dr Éadaoin Agnew (Kingston University)
• Dr Kaori Nagai (University of Kent)
• Assoc. Prof. Ryan Fong (KalamazooUniversity)
• Prof. Jason Rudy (University of Maryland)

Respondents: Chloe Osborne (Royal Holloway University of London) and Dr Emma Barnes (University of Salford)

This event is a collaboration between The Victorian Diversities Research Network and the Institute of English Studies