Emma Major

Dr. Emma Major is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English and Related Literature at the University of York. She previously held positions at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield Hallam, including Senior Lecturer from 2006–2008. Her research focuses on gender, religion, nationhood, and class in British literature and history, with particular emphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries. She has published extensively, including her book Madam Britannia: Women, Church, and Nation 1712–1812 (Oxford UP, 2011), and is currently working on monographs about Anna Laetitia Barbauld and religion/national identity in the 1840s. She actively participates in interdisciplinary projects, such as the AHRC-funded Elizabeth Montagu and the Bluestocking Circle.

Her teaching spans English literature, history of art, and history, with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches. She has supervised MA and PhD students on topics ranging from early 18th-century periodicals to Victorian literature and Quaker history. Major also contributes to academic publishing through peer reviews for journals and funding bodies like the AHRC.

Major’s recent publications include essays on Catherine Talbot and religion in 1688, reflecting her ongoing engagement with 17th- and 18th-century debates. She is a member of York’s Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies and collaborates across disciplines with colleagues in history and art history. Her work bridges literary analysis and historical context, emphasizing the intersection of gender, faith, and national identity.