Sarah Collins

Dr Sarah Collins is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Newcastle University's School of History, Classics and Archaeology. Her research focuses on nocturnal urban environments in 19th-century Britain and America, exploring fear, agency, and light technologies through interdisciplinary methods. She holds a PhD in History from Northumbria University, alongside an MA in Historic Landscape Studies and a BA in Archaeology from the University of York.

Her current project, Darkness, Fear, and Agency in the Nineteenth-Century City (2022–2025), examines how fear of darkness influenced urban planning, lighting strategies, and social inequality. This work aligns with Night Studies, bridging history, literature, and geography. Key findings include the entanglement of darkness with urban inequality and the emotional dimensions of nocturnal spaces.

• Education:
• PhD History, Northumbria University
• MA Historic Landscape Studies, University of York
• BA (Hons) Archaeology, University of York

Collins has conducted extensive archival research across the UK and USA, uncovering overlooked documents like 19th-century engineering maps of streetlight distributions. Her work highlights how lighting infrastructure shaped urban experiences and safety perceptions. Upcoming outputs include a monograph with Routledge (2026) and peer-reviewed articles analyzing transnational urban development.

Awards: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2022–2025).

Collins collaborates on interdisciplinary projects such as the 'Connected Treescapes' initiative (2021–2022) and the 'Wastes and Strays' study of urban commons. She previously led the Tyne & Wear Historic Landscape Characterisation project (funded by Historic England).