Jonathon Shears

Biography

I am a Professor of English Literature. I studied at the universities of Oxford and Liverpool and held posts at Chester and Aberystwyth before joining Keele in 2009. I research and work on Romanticism and poetic tradition, the representation of alcohol use in literature and culture, the history of emotions, and ageing in literature. I was Editor of The Byron Journal from 2012 until 2019. I recently edited The Oxford Handbook of Lord Byron (2024) and am working on a monograph on Byron’s body and mind. I am also researching a book on the fiction of H. E. Bates. I regularly work with a local charity, the Beth Johnson Foundation, on improving later life for people in the Potteries. A documentary film of our recent project, ‘Parks, Playtimes and Age-Friendly Partnerships’ can be found HERE.

I would be very interested in hearing from you if you are looking to undertake a PhD in any of my areas of specialism, particularly Romantic-period literature and culture.

Teaching

I convene the following modules at undergraduate level: ENG10027 Reading Literature, ENG20033 Romanticisms, ENG 30057 Dissertation, ENG30073 The Alcohol Question and ENG30059 Romantic Voices. At Masters level I convene ENG40032 Canon, AntiCanon, Context. I currently supervise PhD students working in the following areas: representations of the working poor in C19th English and Russian literature, the Brontes, and Romantic-period travel writing

Publications

School of Humanities
Chancellor's Building
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5AA
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733109

Head of School
Dr Nick Seager
Room: CBB1.038 (Chancellor's Building, 'B' Extension)
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733142
Email: n.p.seager@keele.ac.uk

School and college outreach
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734009
Email: outreach@keele.ac.uk

Professor Jonathon Shears

Biography

Teaching

Publications