Nicholas Taylor-Collins

Nicholas Taylor-Collins is a Senior Lecturer in English at Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy, specializing in modern and contemporary Irish literature with significant contributions to literary theory and Shakespeare studies. His research explores intertextual connections between early modern drama and Irish writing through poststructuralist frameworks.

He earned his PhD from the University of Warwick (2011-2015) with the thesis "Forming the Nation: Early Modern English and Modern Ireland". His academic journey includes fellowships and editorial leadership in Irish studies.

Taylor-Collins pioneered the concept of 'dismemory' to analyze Shakespearean reception in modern Irish literature, detailed in his monograph Shakespeare, Memory, and Modern Irish Literature (Manchester UP, 2023). Current research focuses on John Banville's fiction through ethical and mortality lenses, developing a theory of 'literary death-ethics' that interrogates the moral dimensions of writing, reading, and criticism. His work intersects Irish cultural identity with philosophical inquiries into memory, death, and textual ethics.

Recent publications (2021-2024) reveal three dominant trajectories: 1) Banville scholarship examining virtue ethics and mortality (culminating in his contracted monograph Affirming Life and Guarding Death in John Banville's Fiction); 2) Shakespearean reception studies analyzing memory and gender in works by O'Farrell and modern Irish authors; 3) Ethical frameworks for literary criticism, particularly regarding Eavan Boland's Nobel-recognized contributions. These strands demonstrate increasing theoretical sophistication in merging Irish literary studies with continental philosophy.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

As a doctoral supervisor, Taylor-Collins guides research on phenomenological Shakespeare studies (including a 2024 viva completion), Charles Bukowski interpretations (2023-2027), and theories of reading pleasure (2025-2031). His professional service encompasses editorial projects like John Banville in Context (Cambridge UP, 2025) and leadership roles as Treasurer of the British Association of Irish Studies and Europe Representative for the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures.

He maintains active research collaborations through his Visiting Research Fellowship at Bath's Centre for Death and Society (2024-2027) and co-leadership of Cardiff's English Literature and the Global Research Group.