Dr Vic Clarke

Profile

In April 2021 I began a Postdoctoral fellowship at the Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute, where I am currently working on a proposal for my first academic monograph on the Northern Star and the Chartist movement in Britain.

In 2020 I completed my PhD entitled ‘Reading and Writing the Northern Star, 1837-1847’, co-supervised by Professor Richard Salmon (School of English) and Professor Malcolm Chase (School of History) at the University of Leeds. My doctoral research offered the first long-term study of the leading newspaper of the Chartist movement in Britain, the Northern Star. This project combined literary and digital humanities methodology to offer new insights within this neglected area of Chartist history. My research was funded by the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities DTC of the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

During my doctoral studies I worked as Research Assistant on the project Letterpress: Past, Present, and Future (2017-2018), led by Dr. James Mussell, and have taught on a variety of undergraduate modules in the School of English. My research has been published in Print, Politics, and the Provincial Press in Modern Britain (ed. Ian Cawood, 2019); as well as The Victorianist (2018) and History Workshop Online (2020). I have also contributed to public engagement work as one of the resident historians for the Kennington Chartist Project (2018); and conducted audience analysis research for the East End Women’s Museum (2020).

Research interests

I am currently developing a postdoctoral research project on the history of ethical fashion marketing in the north of England. This research draws upon my experience of Victorian periodical studies, paying particular attention to the representation of labour issues and exploitation within protest writing and fashion and textiles publications. My hope is that this project will highlight how the rhetoric of Victorian labour activism is mirrored today within environmental sustainability and climate-conscious fashion camapigns.

My research and teaching interests more broadly include Victorian Literature, Victorian political history, print culture, masculinity and gender; and the Brontës.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

• MA Victorian Literature, University of Leeds (2016)
• BA English Literature with English Language & Linguistics, University of Roehampton (2014)

Professional memberships

• Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Dec. 2020)

Student education

During my time at Leeds I have been a seminar tutor on a variety of undergraduate modules, including Poetry, Prose, and Victorian Literature. I have also given lectures and delivered seminars for short courses on Victorian Literature for the Leeds International Summer School.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for the Comparative History of Print
• Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute