English and Theatre Studies
English and Theatre Studies focuses on the form, meanings and effects of imaginative writing and dramatic performance, and explains how these practices engage with the everyday world.
English and Theatre Studies at Melbourne
The program is a leading research hub for critical thinking in English and Theatre Studies across genres and historical periods. The English and Theatre Studies program is recognised nationally and internationally for its world-class research, scholarship and teaching.
Our scholars are experts in:
- Medieval literature and medievalism
- Shakespeare and Renaissance
- Romantic and Victorian literatures
- Modernism
- World literatures
- Popular genres
- Literature and other media
- Literatures of the Americas
- Australian literature, theatre and culture
- Theatre, dance and performance
- Digital Humanities and Archival Studies
- Histories and theories of reading
The program attracts significant external and university funding for key research projects in areas such as creativity, performance, literature and its relations to species and ecological thinking.
Featured writing
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Women Photographers
Associate Professor Anne Maxwell. Women Photographers of the Pacific World, 1857-1930, Routledge, 2020
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Byron in Context
Professor Clara Tuite, Professor of English, Deputy Head of School. Byron in Context, Cambridge University Press, 2020.
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Kangaroo Hunt
Professor Ken Gelder, Professor of English and Dr Rachael Weaver, ARC Senior Research Fellow. The Colonial Kangaroo Hunt, Melbourne University Press, 2020.
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Spectral Characters
Dr Sarah Balkin, Lecturer in English and Theatre Studies. Spectral Characters: Genre and Materiality on the Modern Stage, University of Michigan Press, 2019.
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Limericks
Associate Professor Justin Clemens, Associate Professor of English. Limericks, Philosophical and Literary, Surpllus, 2019.
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Adapting Bestsellers
Professor Ken Gelder, Professor of English. Adapting Bestsellers: Fantasy, Franchise and the Afterlife of Storyworlds, Cambridge University Press, 2019.
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Shakespeare and Lost Plays
David McInnis, Associate Professor of English and Theatre Studies. Shakespeare and Lost Plays: Reimagining Drama in Early Modern England, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
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30 Great Myths about Chaucer
Thomas A. Prendergast and Professor Stephanie Trigg, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of English Literature (eds.,). 30 Great Myths about Chaucer, Wiley, 2020.
Featured research
The English and Theatre Studies program has a long and successful record of receiving external and university funding for research projects, including from the Australian Research Council (ARC).
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Architectures of Imagination: Bodies, Buildings, Fictions, and Worlds
A project developing a new account of the 18th-century imagination through the study of buildings, fictions and their readers / inhabitants.
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Creative Convergence
A project investigating the interactions, engagement and impact of theatre for young people in regional Australia.
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Eco-Colonial Australian Literature: Environment, Species, Climate
A project exploring how colonial Australian writing addresses issues of species, environment and ecology that remain urgent for Australians today.
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Merchants and Museums
Reconstructing museum specimen data through the pathways of global commerce.
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Literature and the face: A critical history
“He gave her a momentary glance, – a glance of brightness...”
~ Jane Austen, Persuasion
Study with us
Master your craft in our undergraduate and graduate programs. You’ll learn from leading academics while joining a vibrant and engaged community.
Graduates in English and Theatre studies go on to rewarding careers in the creative arts, publishing, public relations, advertising, media, communications, teaching and law.
Undergraduate
Graduate coursework
- Graduate Certificate in Arts
- Graduate Diploma in Arts
- Graduate Certificate in Arts (Advanced)
- Graduate Diploma in Arts (Advanced)
Graduate research
Meet our English and Theatre Studies staff
English and Theatre Studies academics are leading teachers, researchers and industry professionals. They train students in critical thinking, advanced writing and research skills, analytical and interpretive reading and effective oral communication.
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Professor Deirdre Coleman
Acting Head of Program; Robert Wallace Chair of English
Phone: +61383445496
Email: colemand@unimelb.edu.au -
Associate Professor David McInnis
Head of Program (sem 1); Associate Professor of English and Theatre Studies
Phone: +61383445498
Email: mcinnisd@unimelb.edu.au -
Associate Professor Paul Rae
Head of School; Associate Professor of Theatre Studies
Phone: +61383441676
Email: paul.rae@unimelb.edu.au -
Dr Sarah Balkin
Lecturer in English and Theatre Studies
Phone: +61390358617
Email: sarah.balkin@unimelb.edu.au -
Associate Professor Justin Clemens
Associate Professor of English
Phone: +61383445502
Email: jclemens@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Rachel Fensham
Professor of Theatre Studies
Phone: +61390358630
Email: rachel.fensham@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Ken Gelder
Professor of English
Phone: +61383445485
Email: kdgelder@unimelb.edu.au -
Dr Joe Hughes
Senior Lecturer in English and Theatre Studies
Phone: +61383447635
Email: joseph.hughes@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Elizabeth Maxwell
Professor of English
Phone: +61383445481
Email: emaxwell@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Ronan McDonald
Gerry Higgins Chair in Irish Studies
Phone: +61383447012
Email: ronan.mcdonald@unimelb.edu.au -
Dr Marc Mierowsky
McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow
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Professor Peter Otto
Professor of English; Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor; Executive Director, Enlightenment, Romanticism, Contemporary Culture Research Unit (ERCC)
Phone: +61383445482
Email: peterjo@unimelb.edu.au -
Dr Trent Ryan
Cultural Data Research Fellow
Email: trent.ryan@unimelb.edu.au
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Dr Miranda Stanyon
ARC DECRA Research Fellow
Email: stanyonm@unimelb.edu.au
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Dr Lara Stevens
Australian Research Council (ARC) Postdoctoral Research Associate
Email: lst@unimelb.edu.au
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Dr Tyne Sumner
Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Associate
Email: tdsumner@unimelb.edu.au
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Professor Stephanie Trigg
Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Reader of English; Director of the Melbourne Node for the ARC Centre of Excellent for the History of Emotions (CHE)
Phone: +61383445504
Email: sjtrigg@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Clara Tuite
Professor of English
Email: clarat@unimelb.edu.au
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Professor Denise Varney
Professor of Theatre Studies
Phone: +61383445242
Email: dvarney@unimelb.edu.au -
Professor Alexis Wright
Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature