Susan Valladares

Dr. Susan Valladares is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Studies at Durham University, where she specializes in theatre and performance history from the late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth century. She is also a member of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Currently on research leave for the 2025/26 academic year as a Leverhulme Research Fellow, she continues to maintain academic correspondence while focusing on her research projects.

Her academic journey began with studies at the Universities of Oxford (MA; DPhil) and York (MA), followed by teaching positions at various Oxford colleges. She served as a Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College (2012-2016) and as a Departmental and College Lecturer at St Hugh's College (2016-2018) before joining Durham University in 2018.

Dr. Valladares' research centers on English literature from 1660 to 1840, with particular expertise in theatre and performance, political histories, representations of race, early Caribbean studies, slavery and abolition, gender autobiographies, and Romantic-period print cultures. Her work demonstrates how theatre functioned as both a cultural institution and political platform during periods of social transformation. She has made significant contributions to understanding how theatrical practices engaged with broader social, political, and cultural issues of their time, particularly regarding citizenship, patriotism, and national identity formation.

Her publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of performance, politics, and identity. The articles demonstrate expertise across multiple domains including postcolonial theatre, Romantic-era performance economies, women's war writing, and the representation of race in historical contexts. Her work frequently examines the connections between theatrical practices and larger historical movements, particularly the Napoleonic Wars and abolitionist efforts.

• 2025: Leverhulme Research Fellowship
• 2024-2025: Short-Term Fellowships at Folger Shakespeare Library and John Carter Brown Library
• 2024: Board Member and Book Review Editor for Studies in Romanticism
• 2023: Durham University's Exceptional Contribution Award
• 2022: Durham University's Discretionary Award Scheme

Dr. Valladares actively supervises PhD students working on English literature from 1660 to 1840, with recent completions including dissertations on Wordsworth's poetry, Romantic dramatic poetics, and Promethean forms of grief in Byron and Shelley. She has successfully secured multiple research grants and fellowships that have supported her archival work at prestigious institutions including Harvard's Houghton Library and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Her engagement with public scholarship includes curating the Bodleian Library's 'Staging History 1780-1840' exhibition, which generated significant public outreach through gallery tours, media interviews, and a podcast series.

Her work bridges academic research and public engagement through collaborations with theatre professionals, arts organizations, and educational outreach programs in the North East of England focused on widening participation in higher education.