Suzanne Speidel

Dr. Suzanne Speidel is an Associate Head of the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute at Sheffield Hallam University's College of Social Sciences and Arts, where she co-leads the portfolio of English, History and Creative Writing; Film and Theatre; and Journalism and PR. She also serves as a partnerships lead for SCII and the College of Social Sciences and Arts, working closely with collaborative partners including UCEN (The Manchester College), The Sheffield College, Trafford and Stockport College Group, and RNN Group.

Dr. Speidel earned her BA in English Literature and PhD from the University of Sheffield. She began her tenure at Sheffield Hallam University in 2003, teaching Film Studies and developing expertise in film adaptation, narrative theory, and heritage cinema.

Her research focuses on film adaptation within British cinema contexts, particularly adaptations of twentieth century novels and adaptation theory, with special interest in European cinemas, especially German cinema and German cinema since reunification. Currently, she is researching film adaptations of E. M. Forster's works, emphasizing screenplays, screenwriting, and acts of creative collaboration. She is also working on a monograph on E. M. Forster adaptations with emphasis on archival research and creative collaboration.

Her scholarly publications demonstrate consistent engagement with adaptation theory, British cinema, and literary film adaptations, with a particular focus on how narrative forms translate across media. Her work spans from analyses of classic literature adaptations to examinations of children's cinema and radio-film relationships during broadcasting's golden age.

Dr. Speidel has supervised multiple PhD students to completion, with research topics spanning autism representation, UK comedy, Virginia Woolf adaptations, and Irish cinema diaspora. She welcomes interdisciplinary proposals in film and literature, as well as film, television, and radio studies.

She teaches BA Film Studies, delivering modules in Film Analysis, Screen Storytelling, Must-See TV, and Film Dissertation. Her work is associated with the Humanities Research Centre and Culture and Creativity Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University.