معرفی
Dr. James McGrath, a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, is a scholar diagnosed with autism in adulthood. His work bridges autism research, literature, and popular music, advocating for interdisciplinary dialogue between sciences and humanities. He has authored the monograph Naming Adult Autism: Culture, Science, Identity (2017) and is developing a poetry collection Autistic Figurations (2023).
- Affiliation: Leeds Beckett University, Centre for Culture and Humanities
- NHS Role: Selection committee member for Leeds Autism Diagnostic Services
- Advisory: Medical humanities project LivingBodiesObjects at University of Leeds
Research Interests focus on autistic identity through creative practice, cultural representations of autism in novels/poetry, and intersections of music history with disability studies. His AHRC-funded PhD explored themes of home in The Beatles’ work, and he contributed biographical entries to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Teaching spans English Literature, Creative Writing, and interdisciplinary modules like Narrative and Disability. He has supervised three PhD completions and currently mentors five doctoral students at Leeds Beckett. His 2019 article in The Conversation critiques Simon Baron-Cohen’s “minds wired for science” theory, highlighting biases in autism diagnosis tools.
Public Engagement includes BBC Radio 3’s The Verb (2018) and invited readings at autism arts festivals. His poetry appears in PN Review, International Times, and The Guardian.
