Adelene Buckland

Dr Adelene Buckland is Reader in Nineteenth-Century Literature at King's College London's Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Department of English. She began teaching at King's in September 2012 after studying English at Birmingham and Oxford universities and completing postdoctoral research at Cambridge. Her scholarship bridges literary studies with history of science, focusing on nineteenth-century intersections of literature, geology, and technology.

Her academic journey includes:

• English degree at University of Birmingham
• English degree at University of Oxford
• Postdoctoral researcher at University of Cambridge

Dr Buckland's research explores how nineteenth-century literature engaged with scientific thought, particularly geology, revealing connections between narrative forms and geological concepts of time and space. Her work examines gendered dimensions of scientific knowledge production and how literature shaped scientific understanding during the Victorian era. Current research focuses on 'Baby Machines: Mothers and Love in the Electromechanical Age, 1840-1940,' investigating technology's relationship with maternity. She approaches material culture as a lens for understanding historical experiences of embodiment and technological change.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent scholarly engagement with literature-science intersections, particularly how geological concepts influenced narrative forms. Her work demonstrates an evolution from early studies of geology and fiction to more recent explorations of material culture, gender, and the anthropocene. This trajectory shows increasing attention to colonial dimensions of scientific knowledge and the gendered aspects of technological development in the nineteenth century.

Dr Buckland's scholarly contributions have received significant recognition:

• Marc-Auguste Pictet Prize for History of Science for 'Novel Science: Fiction and the Invention of Nineteenth-Century Geology'
• Shortlisted for British Society for Literature and Science annual book prize
• Honorable Mention in 2013 Sonya Rudikoff prize for best book in Victorian studies

Dr Buckland actively supervises graduate research with five documented supervised works. Her research has been supported by projects including 'Mother's Instinct: Nineteenth-Century Motherhood in Colonial Encounter' (2017-2019). She demonstrates exceptional public engagement through the 'Charles Dickens: Man of Science' exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum, BBC Radio 4 appearances, and contributions to National Geographic's 'Map of Hell' documentary. Her media work connects academic research with broader public understanding of literature and science history.

As a member of King's Research Centre for Technology and the Body, Dr Buckland contributes to interdisciplinary explorations of 'Stories of embodied technology: from the plough to the touchscreen.' Her work bridges literary studies with science and technology studies, examining how technological developments have shaped human experience and expression across historical periods. This affiliation reflects her commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that connect literary analysis with material culture studies and history of technology.