Ed Charlton

Dr Ed Charlton is a Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial and Global Literature at the School of English and Drama, Queen Mary University of London. He holds a BA from the University of Sheffield, an MA from King's College London, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Before joining Queen Mary in 2021, he held research fellowships at LSE Cities, including the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Cities and the Humanities and a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.

His research focuses on global urban culture, African literature and film, postcolonial theory, and the intersections of text and image (particularly photography). Recent work includes Sad Cities, examining postcolonial urban spaces in Johannesburg, London, Toronto, and Singapore, and collaborative projects on socially engaged arts organizations funded by the British Academy's 'Good Cities' initiative. He co-authored digital StoryMaps on Johannesburg's atmospherics and has curated exhibitions combining text and visual art.

Publications include Improvising Reconciliation: Confession after the Truth Commission (2021), available as an open-access e-book, and articles in journals like GeoHumanities and cultural geographies. His interdisciplinary approach bridges literature, urban studies, and cultural geography.

Key awards include the Andrew W. Mellon and British Academy fellowships. He has contributed to policy reports on urban arts organizations and maintains active public engagement through curated exhibitions and interdisciplinary collaborations.