Matthew Rowlinson

Matthew Rowlinson is a Professor in the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University. His research focuses on 19th-century British literature and culture, with particular emphasis on authors like George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Keats, and Walter Scott. His work explores how literature engages with material and biological realities, including recent studies on species representation and biopolitics.

Education:

• BA, University of Toronto, 1978
• MA, University of Toronto, 1982
• MA, Cornell University, 1982
• PhD, Cornell University, 1986

Research Interests: His current projects examine the emergence of biological species concepts in 19th-century writing and the intersections of literature with economics, animal studies, and Romantic/Victorian poetics. He employs interdisciplinary methods, integrating literary analysis with historical, scientific, and theoretical frameworks.

Advising & Grants: Dr. Rowlinson supervises graduate students in 19th-century literature, literary theory, poetry, and animal studies. His work has been supported by grants exploring themes like cognitive style in Browning’s poetry and materialism in Tennyson’s verse.