Biography
Joanna Hofer-Robinson is an interdisciplinary researcher whose major projects combine tools from cultural geography and historical studies with close readings of diverse species of text, theatre, and visual culture. She has also experimented with practice-led research: leading a project that staged two rarely-performed Victorian plays. With particular expertise in nineteenth-century literature and culture, her recent publications include the monograph Dickens and Demolition (Edinburgh UP, 2018) and Sensation Drama, 1860—1880: An Anthology (Edinburgh UP, 2019; co-edited with Dr Beth Palmer).
Research Interests
The literature and culture of the long-nineteenth century; infrastructure; practice-led research.Research Grants
Project | Funding Body | Start Date | End Date | Award | |
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BreakNet (Strand 2) | Irish Research Council | 01-MAY-20 | 31-DEC-21 | €5,000.00 | |
Breaking the Network: Infrastructure, Internationalism, and Community Fragmentation in the Long-Nineteenth Century | Enterprise Irl | 15-JUN-21 | 14-JUN-23 | €16,000.00 |
Publications
Books
Year | Publication | |
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(2018) | Dickens and Demolition: Literary Afterlives and Mid-Nineteenth Century Urban Development. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2018) Dickens and Demolition: Literary Afterlives and Mid-Nineteenth Century Urban Development. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. [Details] |
Book Chapters
Year | Publication | |
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(2021) | 'Bleak House' Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2021) 'Bleak House' In: Jeremy Tambling (eds). An Encyclopaedia of Urban Literary Studies. Cham: Palgrave-Macmillan and Springer. [Details] | |
(2020) | '‘Once upon a time would not prove to be All-time or even a long time.’ From Sanitary Reform to Cultural Memory: The Case of Jacob’s Island' Hofer-Robinson, Joanna (2020) '‘Once upon a time would not prove to be All-time or even a long time.’ From Sanitary Reform to Cultural Memory: The Case of Jacob’s Island' In: Bell, Emily (eds). Dickens After Dickens. York: White Rose University Press. [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] |
Edited Books
Year | Publication | |
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(2024) | The Plays of Charles Dickens Joanna Hofer-Robinson and Peter Orford (Ed.). (2024) The Plays of Charles Dickens Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. [Details] | |
(2019) | Sensation Drama, 1860-1880: An Anthology Joanna Hofer-Robinson and Beth Palmer (Ed.). (2019) Sensation Drama, 1860-1880: An Anthology Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. [Details] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2021) | 'Adaptable near and far: C. H. Hazlewood’s double adaptations' Hofer-Robinson, Joanna (2021) 'Adaptable near and far: C. H. Hazlewood’s double adaptations'. Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film, [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2019) | '‘Staging The Frozen Deep as Practice-led Research: “Illusion can only be perfected through the feelings.”’' Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2019) '‘Staging The Frozen Deep as Practice-led Research: “Illusion can only be perfected through the feelings.”’'. Dickens Quarterly, 36 (4):329-346 [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2018) | '‘“kaleidoscopes of changing pictures”: Representing Nations in Toy Theatres’' Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2018) '‘“kaleidoscopes of changing pictures”: Representing Nations in Toy Theatres’'. Journal of Victorian Culture, 23 (1):4-63 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2017) | 'Is He a Dramatist? Or, Something Singular! Staging Dickensian Drama as Practice-Led Research' Robinson, Joanna; Cox Jensen, Oskar; Whipday, Emma (2017) 'Is He a Dramatist? Or, Something Singular! Staging Dickensian Drama as Practice-Led Research'. Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film, 43 (2):160-182 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2020) | '‘“Twin sisters”: Intermediality and Sensation in Wilkie Collins’s The New Magdalen’' Beth Palmer and Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) '‘“Twin sisters”: Intermediality and Sensation in Wilkie Collins’s The New Magdalen’'. Nineteenth-Century Contexts, [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2014) | '‘Digitalizing Dickens: Adapting Dickens for the Bicentenary’' Joanna Robinson (2014) '‘Digitalizing Dickens: Adapting Dickens for the Bicentenary’'. Dickens Quarterly, [Full Text] [Details] |
Audiovisual material
Year | Publication | |
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(2011) | Dickens: Dark London App. Museum of London (2011) Dickens: Dark London App. Audiovisual material [Details] |
Articles
Year | Publication | |
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(2020) | How David Copperfield tells the story of Charles Dickens. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) How David Copperfield tells the story of Charles Dickens. Articles [Details] | |
(2019) | 'Dickens' impact in our culture is felt most strongly when we barely see him at all'. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2019) 'Dickens' impact in our culture is felt most strongly when we barely see him at all'. Articles [Details] | |
(2019) | A 19th century play with modern overtones. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2019) A 19th century play with modern overtones. Articles [Details] | |
(2017) | 'Reinventing Dickens for Christmas'. Joanna Robinson (2017) 'Reinventing Dickens for Christmas'. Articles [Details] | |
(2019) | 'The Art of Acting Naturally'. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2019) 'The Art of Acting Naturally'. Articles [Details] |
Blog
Year | Publication | |
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(2020) | Toy Theatres and Real Ones. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) Toy Theatres and Real Ones. Journal of Victorian Culture Online: Blog [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2015) | ‘Month 9: “Say something plain.” Speech and Suppression in the January Number’, Dickens Our Mutual Friend Online Reading Project. Joanna Robinson (2015) ‘Month 9: “Say something plain.” Speech and Suppression in the January Number’, Dickens Our Mutual Friend Online Reading Project. Blog [Details] | |
(2012) | Dickens and London, Museum of London Website. Joanna Robinson (2012) Dickens and London, Museum of London Website. Blog [Details] |
Book Reviews
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2018) | Review of Emily Steinlight. Populating the Novel: Literary Form and the Politics of Surplus Life. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, 2018. Pp. xi + 278. $55. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2018) Review of Emily Steinlight. Populating the Novel: Literary Form and the Politics of Surplus Life. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, 2018. Pp. xi + 278. $55. Book Reviews [Details] | |
(2014) | ‘Review of Charles Dickens and the Mid-Victorian Press, 1850–1870, ed. by Hazel Mackenzie and Ben Winyard’. Joanna Robinson (2014) ‘Review of Charles Dickens and the Mid-Victorian Press, 1850–1870, ed. by Hazel Mackenzie and Ben Winyard’. Book Reviews [Details] |
Film or Broadcasts
Year | Publication | |
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(2016) | Podcast of the Dockland Encounters Symposium. Joanna Robinson, et al (2016) Podcast of the Dockland Encounters Symposium. Film or Broadcasts [Details] | |
(2015) | ‘Is She His Wife? or, Something Singular! A Dickensian Drama’. Joanna Robinson, Emma Whipday and Oskar Cox Jensen (2015) ‘Is She His Wife? or, Something Singular! A Dickensian Drama’. Film or Broadcasts [Details] |
Journal Volume Edited
Year | Publication | |
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(2023) | Infrastructure Beyond Networks. Joanna Hofer-Robinson and Nicola Kirkby (editors) (2023) Infrastructure Beyond Networks. Journal Volume Edited [Details] | |
(2023) | Interstitial Spaces. Joanna Hofer-Robinson, Chris Louttitt, and Frederik Van Dam (editors) (2023) Interstitial Spaces. Journal Volume Edited [Details] |
Multidisciplinary Project
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2020) | Dockside Entertainments: The Crimean Banquet. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) Dockside Entertainments: The Crimean Banquet. Multidisciplinary Project [Details] | |
(2020) | The Dublin Diving Bell. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) The Dublin Diving Bell. Multidisciplinary Project [Details] | |
(2020) | The Dublin Time Ball. Joanna Hofer-Robinson (2020) The Dublin Time Ball. Multidisciplinary Project [Details] |
Professional Activities
Honours and Awards
Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Belcher Visiting Fellowship in Victorian Studies | St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford | |
2021 | Returners Scheme | University College Cork | |
2021 | H2020 Proposal Preparation Support | Enterprise Ireland | |
2020 | Royal Irish Academy/British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium | British Academy | |
2018 | Research Support Funding | University College Cork | |
2011 | Museum of London Stipend | Museum of London | |
2019 | NUI Galway Conference Funding | NUI Galway | |
2020 | Knowledge Frontiers Seed Funding (collaborative award) | British Academy | |
2020 | New Foundations | Irish Research Council | |
2020 | Huntington Library Mayers Fellowship | Huntington Library | |
2011 | AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Studentship | AHRC | |
2015 | Small Grants Competition | King's College London | |
2017 | UCD SEED Funding Scheme | UCD | |
2014 | Small Grants Competition | King's College London | |
2015 | British Association of Victorian Studies (BAVS) Event Grant | British Association of Victorian Studies | |
2019 | College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences Event Funding | UCC | |
2013 | Huntington Library Research Fellowship | AHRC International Placement Scheme | |
2016 | Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship | Irish Research Council |
Professional Associations
Association | Function | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
British Association of Victorian Studies | Member | / | |
The Dickens Society | Trustee | 01-SEP-21 / 31-AUG-24 | |
The National Association of English Studies, Ireland | Member | / | |
Irish Network for Nineteenth-Century Studies | Founder | / | |
The Higher Education Academy | Associate Fellow | / | |
North American Victorian Studies Association | Member | / |
Committees
Committee | Function | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
Graduate Studies Committee | Acting Head of Graduate Studies, English Department | 2022 / 2022 | |
Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication Multidisciplinary Committee: Royal Irish Academy | Member | 2022 / 2026 | |
The Dickens Society | Trustee | 2021 / 2024 | |
Library | English Department Representative | / | |
Postgraduate Liaison | Postgraduate Liaison Officer | / | |
First Year Committee | Member | / |
Employment
Employer | Position | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
King’s College London | Graduate Teaching Assistant and Guest Lecturer | 01-JAN-13 / 31-MAY-16 | |
University College Dublin | Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow | 01-OCT-16 / 31-JUL-17 | |
The University of Surrey | Research Assistant | 24-JAN-16 / 30-SEP-16 |
Education
Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | King's College London | Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice in Higher Education | Teaching Qualification | |
2019 | UCC | Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | Teaching Qualification | |
2009 | The University of Southampton | BA | English Literature | |
2016 | King's College London | PhD | 'Charles Dickens and Creative Destruction' | |
2011 | King's College London | MA | English: 1850 – the present |
Outreach Activities
Description | |
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Dickensian Drama The research project ‘Dickensian Drama’ engaged members of the public as well as to explore the benefits of practice-led research methods for the study of nineteenth-century drama. So far, we have staged two rarely-performed plays to academics and interested members of the public. Our first production of Is She His Wife? Or, Something Singular! was filmed, and the video has now been viewed on YouTube over 800 times. | |
Developing content for a public-facing online archive and the app Port Places, as part of the ERDF-funded project “Ports, Past and Present”: https://portspastpresent.eu/. | |
Contributor to RTE Brainstorm: https://www.rte.ie/author/927613-dr-joanna-robinson/ | |
Writer for the Museum of London I wrote captions and edited text for the Museum of London’s app Dickens: Dark London (2011), and kept a regular Dickens and London blog during their Dickens exhibition in 2012. | |
Public Speaker I have given several talks to different branches of the Dickens Fellowship, and at King’s College London and the Museum of London during the 2012 bicentenary of Dickens’s birth. |
Other Activities
Description | |
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Principal Investigator: Dickensian Drama Initiated a collaborative project between the Charles Dickens Museum and cross-disciplinary colleagues at King’s College London and University College London, which investigated what a practice-led research methodology can add to our understanding of Dickensian dramaturgy by staging two rarely performed plays. The Frozen Deep (2016) and Is She His Wife? or, Something Singular! (2015)
Outputs include:
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Co-Investigator: (Non-)Spectacular Infrastructure A British Academy-funded interdisciplinary project, working with Dr Jeremy Brice (Sociology, LSE) and Dr Adam O’Brien (Film, Theatre & Television, University of Reading), to develop events, a joint publication, and an AHRC funding bid. | |
Co-Investigator: Ports, Past and Present: Cultural Crossings between Ireland and Wales An ERDF-funded project and joint initiative with University College Cork and Wexford County Council in Ireland, and in Wales with Aberystwyth University and the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, which aims to increase tourism in port towns on the Irish Sea Basin through a deeper understanding of their past. | |
Judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards (2019) | |
Founder: The Irish Network for Nineteenth-Century Studies (INNS) Before this project began, there was no interdisciplinary research network for scholars in Ireland who research the nineteenth century across a variety of geographical and cultural contexts. INNS addresses this gap by fostering communication between researchers, offering fora for the presentation of new work, and exploring avenues to develop future collaborative activities. These aims are effected by:
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Editorial Assistant: Victoriographies (2015 - 17) | |
Symposium Organiser:
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Reading Group Convenor:
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Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
Nineteenth-century literature and theatre
Research Information
External Collaborators
Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr Peter Orford | The University of Buckingham | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Beth Palmer | The University of Surrey | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Frederik Van Dam | Radbound University | BELGIUM | |
Dr Nicola Kirkby | Royal Holloway, University of London | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Chris Louttitt | Radbound University | BELGIUM | |
Dr Jeremy Brice | LSE | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Adam O'Brien | The University of Reading | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Oskar Cox Jensen | Queen Mary University of London | UNITED KINGDOM | |
Dr Emma Whipday | Newcastle University | UNITED KINGDOM |