Deirdre Coleman completed Honours in English at the University of Melbourne before going to Oxford University where she graduated with a BPhil in Victorian literature and a DPhil on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Since returning to Australia she has taught at the Universities of Wollongong, Adelaide and Sydney.
In 2007 she returned to the University of Melbourne as the Robert Wallace Chair of English, and served as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 2010-2013. Currently she is a Co-Director and Lead Researcher in the Faculty of Arts Research Unit, Enlightenment, Romanticism, Contemporary Culture. Her most recent book examines the links between natural history, slavery, and empire, Henry Smeathman, t he Flycatcher (Liverpool UP, 2018). Other research interests include 18th and 19th century literature and cultural history; abolitionism, women's writing, travel, colonialism (West Africa, West Indies, Botany Bay), the development of racial ideology, and the gothic.
Find out more about Deirdre Coleman's experience
Deirdre Coleman's highlights
FEATURED Journal article
Anti-Slavery, African colonization, and the natural history of ballooning
Read moreDeirdre Coleman's selected work
George Lyell Collection - Mccoy Seed Fund - Prof Deirdre Coleman
Internal Research Grant
Other awful years in history
NEWS ARTICLE
Antislavery Satire before Abolitionism: Two New Images
Journal article
Reconstructing Museum Specimen Data Through The Pathways Of Global Commerce
Research Grant
A bittersweet history
NEWS ARTICLE
Henry Smeathman, the Flycatcher: Natural History, Slavery, and Empire in the late Eighteen..
Book
Deirdre Coleman's selected work
Projects
Displaying the 11 most recent projects by Deirdre Coleman.
Project Types
8
Research Grant
2
Internal Research Grant
1
Research Contracts
Additional Information
Fellow, Huntington Library (2014)
UK Institute of Advanced Studies Fellow, University of Warwick (2014)
Visiting Scholar, Trinity College, Cambridge (2010)
Visiting Fellow, Birkbeck College and Royal Holloway, University of London (2009)
Scholarly Works
Displaying the 57 most recent scholarly works by Deirdre Coleman.
News
Displaying the 4 most recent news articles by Deirdre Coleman.
Honours, Awards and Fellowships
Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research Higher Degree Supervision
FAHA - Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Credentials
Positions
Positions
Robert Wallace Chair Of English
Culture And Communication
Council Member
Australian Academy of the Humanities
Vice-President
Romantic Studies Association of Australasia
Member
Marsden Fund (Humanities Panel), Royal Society of New Zealand
Member
Australian Research Council College of Experts (HCA Panel)
Member
Australian Academy of the Humanities
Education
Education
Doctorate of Philosophy
University of Oxford
Bachelor of Philosophy
University of Oxford
Bachelor of Arts with Honours
University of Melbourne