Michael Collins

Dr. Michael Collins is a Reader in American Studies at King's College London, part of the Department of English within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. He holds a PhD from the University of Nottingham and has held academic positions including a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellowship (2010–2012) and a lectureship at the University of Kent before joining King’s in 2018. His research focuses on American intellectual history, literature, and culture, with particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries, including Progressive Era studies, literary modernism, and issues of class and ethnicity.

• Education: PhD in American Studies, University of Nottingham (thesis on 19th-century US short story and theatre)
• Key Monographs: Exoteric Modernisms (2023), The Drama of the American Short Story (2016)
• Edited: Cambridge Companion to the American Short Story (2023, with Prof. Gavin Jones)

His research interests include American literature and culture, intelligence testing history, and the intersection of literature with meritocracy and social class. He has led grants such as the AHRC Early Career project on literary culture and intelligence assessment (2017–2019). His recent work explores American literature and the Civil Service, building on his AHRC-funded project.

Publications span articles on Mark Twain, W.E.B. Du Bois, Henry Adams, and transatlantic literary exchanges. His awards include the Leverhulme Fellowship and election as BAAS Chair in 2025. Teaching encompasses American literature from colonial times to the present, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches.

• Grants: AHRC Early Career Project (2017–2019)
• Awards: Leverhulme Trust Fellowship, BAAS Leadership