Timothy Baker

Professor Timothy Baker is Personal Chair in Scottish and Contemporary Literature at the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen. He holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh and has been a faculty member at Aberdeen since 2009, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. He is an active researcher, supervisor, and educator, with a strong focus on contemporary literary studies.

His educational background includes:

• AB in Cognitive Science, Vassar College (1999)
• PhD in English Literature, University of Edinburgh (2007)

Timothy Baker's research spans Scottish and contemporary literature, with special emphasis on environmental humanities, queer theory, and theories of community. His work explores the intersections of literature with ecological crisis, animal studies, grief, memory, and identity. He is particularly interested in experimental forms of environmental writing and the representation of time, space, and belonging in modern fiction.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward interdisciplinary scholarship, blending literary analysis with ecocriticism, posthumanism, and affect theory. Themes such as gleaning, fragmentation, beachcombing, and queer temporality reflect his innovative approach to textual and environmental materiality. His research increasingly engages with the blue humanities and utopian thought, signaling a forward-looking trajectory in contemporary literary studies.

He has authored five major books and numerous articles and chapters, contributing significantly to the fields of Scottish literature, ecocriticism, and queer studies. Though no formal scientific awards are listed, his sustained scholarly output and editorial projects (such as co-editing The Routledge Companion to Scottish Literature) demonstrate high recognition in the academic community.

Professor Baker actively supervises PhD students, with completed and ongoing projects in ecofeminism, autism in literature, literary animal studies, and contemporary Gothic fiction. He welcomes new research students in related areas, particularly those working on experimental forms, environmental writing, and queer theory. He has also contributed to teaching through courses such as 'Queer Times', 'Haunted Texts', and 'The Novel: Environments and Encounters'.

He is involved in external academic service, serving as a board member for the Scottish Universities International Summer School and as an external examiner for the University of Edinburgh. His office is located in Taylor B14, and he can be contacted via email at t.c.baker@abdn.ac.uk.