Jennifer Cooke

Roles and Affiliations: Jennifer Cooke is a Professor of Contemporary Literature and Theory at Loughborough University, where she also serves as a Leverhulme Research Fellow. She previously held roles including Head of English (2020–2024), Senior Lecturer (2014–2020), and Lecturer (2007–2014). She is affiliated with the School of English and Humanities and the Department of English at Loughborough University.

Education: DPhil (Doctorate) in Literature from Sussex University.

Research Interests: Her work focuses on contemporary literature, feminist theory, life-writing, and the intersections of gender, affect, and cultural studies. She has pioneered research on feminist methodologies, intimate narratives, and the literary representation of empathy, apocalypse, and non-binary identities. Her book Contemporary Feminist Life-Writing: The New Audacity (2020) redefines feminist approaches to autobiographical writing, while her recent work engages with Sally Rooney’s novels and ecological writing.

Awards: Recognized for her scholarly contributions, she has received the British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies’ Best Monograph and Edited Collection Prizes (both 2020) and a Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award (2020).

Editorial and Academic Service: She co-edits the Elements in Feminism and Contemporary Critical Theory series for Cambridge University Press and serves on editorial boards for journals like Prose and Contemporary Women’s Writing. She is a member of the AHRC Peer Review College and the BACLS Executive Committee.

Teaching and Advocacy: A vocal advocate for academic labor rights, she has participated in university strikes and integrates strike education into her pedagogy. Her work bridges theory and practice, emphasizing intersectional feminist approaches in both research and teaching.