Stuart Lee

Professor Stuart Lee holds the position of Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of English Language & Literature, alongside his role as Deputy CIO for Oxford IT Services. His research focuses on Tolkien studies, fantasy literature, World War poetry, and digital humanities. He has pioneered major digital projects like the First World War Poetry Digital Archive and Europeana 1914-1918, using crowd-sourcing to explore historical narratives. A National Teaching Fellow (2009), Lee has developed innovative e-learning tools for humanities education. His academic leadership includes organizing international summer schools on Tolkien and fantasy literature, and co-editing major works on Tolkien’s legacy.

Education: PhD in Old English (King’s College London), MA (King’s College London), BA (Keele University). Professional roles include former Head of Oxford’s Learning Technologies Group, and current associate membership at Exeter College. Awards include the Oxford Teaching Award (2008) and PGCert in Higher Education Teaching (2002).

Research interests span Tolkien’s WW1 poetry connections, fantastical responses to war, AI-driven metadata creation, and uncovering hidden histories through digital crowdsourcing. Current projects include 2025 Bloomsbury Summer School on Fantasy Literature and Tolkien 50th anniversary seminars.