Barry Sheils

Barry Sheils is Professor in the Department of English Studies at Durham University, specializing in modern and contemporary literature with intersecting interests in affect theory, ecological thinking, and psychoanalysis. His research particularly examines W.B. Yeats, Irish modernism, and transnational poetics. Prior to joining Durham in 2016, he held fellowships at University College Dublin (Irish Research Council) and Warwick University's Institute of Advanced Study, following lectureships at Swansea University. He earned his doctorate from Warwick University and BA from Trinity College Dublin.

Sheils' research explores:

• The interaction of literary style with ecological consciousness and meteorological themes
• Affective dimensions of modern writing, especially shame and anxiety
• Transnational exchanges in modernist literature
• Psychoanalytic approaches to cultural production
• Contemporary reformulations of modernist legacies in digital culture

His publications demonstrate sustained engagement with environmental humanities, Irish studies, and aesthetic theory, frequently employing interdisciplinary frameworks connecting literary analysis with cultural history and philosophy.

Honors include:

• Irish Research Council Fellowship
• Early Career Fellowship, Warwick Institute of Advanced Study
• Keynote at Swedish National Forum for English Studies (2017)

He currently supervises four doctoral students researching modern literature and serves as Associate Director of Durham's Centre for Culture and Ecology. As Chair of the Undergraduate Board of Examiners since 2019, he oversees modules on post-war fiction, Yeats, literary psychoanalysis, and shame studies.