Michelle Faubert

Michelle Faubert is Professor of Romantic literature in the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media at the University of Manitoba, Canada, where she has taught since 2006. She is also a Visiting Fellow at Northumbria University, UK (since 2010), and Chair of the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism (NASSR). Her work bridges literature, medical history, and human rights discourse.

Education

• PhD English Literature, University of Toronto (2003)
• MA English Literature and Philosophy, University of Regina (1997)
• BA Honours English, University of Regina (1995)

Research Focus

Faubert’s scholarship centres on British Romanticism, with particular attention to literary representations of suicide, the history of psychology and medicine, slavery and abolition, and new historicist approaches. Her monographs and edited volumes explore how Romantic-era texts negotiate existential freedom, biopower, and human rights, while her archival discoveries—such as the British Library’s Zong letter—reshape understandings of abolitionist history.

Publication Trajectory

Across more than two decades, her publications move from foundational studies on Romantic-era medical writing and psychology to urgent contemporary questions of race, rights, and suicide. Recent work integrates archival discovery with theoretical frameworks from biopolitics and critical race studies, demonstrating an evolving scholarly agenda that is both historically grounded and critically innovative.

Awards & Grants

• UM/SSHRC Exchange Internal Grants Program 2024
• SSHRC Insight Grant 2015–2024 (extended), “Romanticism and Revolutionary Suicide” – PI ($145,697)
• University of Manitoba Creative Works Grant 2020 – PI ($5,000)
• University of Manitoba Merit Award for Teaching and Research 2019 ($3,000)
• Leverhulme Trust Project Associate 2018–2021, “Writing Doctors” ($500,000)
• Gerda Henkel Stiftung Research Scholarship 2014–2016 – PI ($14,927)

Graduate Mentorship & Outreach

Faubert currently accepts MA and PhD students in Romantic studies, medical humanities, and abolitionist literatures. Beyond the university, she delivers keynote lectures internationally—from Germany and Ghana to Jamaica and Illinois—and collaborates with community groups such as the University Women’s Club of Winnipeg.

Research Affiliations

• Chair, North American Society for the Study of Romanticism (NASSR)
• Member, Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE)
• Member, Keats–Shelley Association