Dale Townshend

Professor Dale Townshend is a Professor of Gothic Literature at Manchester Metropolitan University, specializing in 18th- and 19th-century Gothic writing, Romanticism, and critical theory. He holds a PhD from Keele University and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His research explores Gothic aesthetics, architecture, and ethics, with notable projects funded by AHRC and the Mellon Foundation. Recent initiatives include the AHRC Follow-On Grant 'Experiencing Britain’s Ruins,' collaborating with English Heritage to engage the public with historical sites.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts (1992), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• BA Honours in English (1993), University of the Witwatersrand
• MA by Research in English (1997), University of the Witwatersrand
• PhD in English (2004), Keele University

Research focuses on Gothic topography, Shakespearean appropriations, and interdisciplinary connections between literature and architecture. He co-edited The Cambridge History of the Gothic and authored Gothic Antiquity: History, Romance and the Architectural Imagination, 1760–1840. Current projects include a monograph on Matthew Gregory Lewis and a study of necromancy in Romantic-period culture.

Awards include AHRC Leadership Fellowships and Mellon Foundation grants. His teaching includes postgraduate courses on Gothic literature's origins and supervision of PhD topics ranging from Gothic tourism to trauma narratives.