Barbara Ravelhofer

Professor Barbara Ravelhofer is a distinguished scholar of English Literature at Durham University, where she serves as Professor in the Department of English Studies and as a Member of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS). With a career spanning several decades, she has established herself as a leading expert in early modern English literature, Renaissance Studies, and the history of court spectacle.

Her educational background includes a degree in English and German Literature from the University of Munich, followed by a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship at St John's College. Professor Ravelhofer has also held prestigious Visiting Fellowships at the Universities of Bologna, Princeton, and Harvard, demonstrating her international scholarly recognition.

Professor Ravelhofer's research focuses on European spectacle from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century, editing and book history in comparative perspective, and oral forms of literature. Her groundbreaking work includes the edition of the French dance treatise Louange de la danse (2000) and the influential monograph The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music (2006), which explores professional ballet, theatre management, and dramatic performance at the early Stuart court. Her current research examines English court theatre, iconoclasm, and the dawn of the Civil War.

Her scholarly publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of literature, performance, and cultural history, with particular expertise in masque studies, dance history, and Caroline drama. Professor Ravelhofer has made significant contributions to understanding how movement, spectacle, and visual elements functioned within early modern literary and court contexts.

• AHRC Follow-on-Funding, 2022: £98,810, held as PI
• Arts Council grant, 2016: £14,948, held as PI
• AHRC research grant, 2013-18: £954,316.00, held as Co-I
• AHRC research grant, 2007: £832,207.00, held as Principal Investigator
• Mellon Foundation Publication grant, 2004
• Visiting Fellow, Princeton University (2002-3)
• Senior Visiting Fellow, University of Bologna (2001-2)
• Junior Research Fellow, St John's College, Cambridge (1997-2001)

Professor Ravelhofer has supervised numerous postgraduate students including Andy Moody, Camilla Thompson, Cecilia Istria-Dorland Istria, and Cherrie Gottsleben. She currently co-directs two major research projects: Records of Early English Drama North-East (REED-NE), which documents performance traditions in England's North-East from the eighth century to 1642, and The Complete Works of James Shirley, a ten-volume scholarly edition of the Caroline dramatist's works. As a general editor on this Oxford University Press project, she coordinates the work of over thirty international scholars. Her editorial work extends to scholarly journals including service on the Advisory Board of Dance Chronicle.