Dave Harper

Professor Dave Harper is a faculty member at the University of York's Department of English and Related Literature. Previously, he served as Department Head and member of the Academic Board at West Point, where he held the rank of Professor since 2022. He is a Mellon Fellow at Rare Book School (University of Virginia) and a Fulbright Scholar. His research focuses on early modern and eighteenth-century English literature, book history, and John Milton's works. He co-leads the Mischiefe Press letterpress studio and is affiliated with York's Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies.

Research interests include the reception of Paradise Lost in literary criticism, printing history in York, and Milton's eighteenth-century legacy. His monograph Paradise Lost and the Making of English Literary Criticism (Routledge, 2023) examines this critical trajectory. Teaching includes advanced modules like ‘Imprinted at York’: Decentering Print History (using York Minster Archives) and Renaissance literature.

• Awards: Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship ( Rare Book School ), Fulbright Scholarship (2022)
• External Roles: Board Member, Rare Book School (University of Virginia)
• Future Projects: History of provincial printing in York, letterpress printing initiatives

Teaching spans undergraduate courses at West Point (Shakespeare, composition) and York's MA Letterpress program. His work bridges scholarly research with hands-on printing practice through collaborations with Thin Ice Press and his private studio.