Dr Kate M. Graham
During the 2022-23 academic year, I will be on unpaid leave from the university.
My research interests focus on contemporary queer culture; queer history; queer grief; Early Modern drama (particularly revenge tragedies); revenge; and contemporary performances of Early Modern drama.
I have taught at the University of Westminster since 2007 and became a permanent member of staff in 2016.
I am the convenor of the School of Humanities EDI Working Group, Director of the School of Humanities New Writing Festival, a member of the Black History Year Steering Committee and, along with my college, Dr Simon Avery, I am Director of the Queer London Research Forum.
I have a BA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Westminster (First Class); an MA in Text and Performance Studies from King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Distinction); an MA in Cultural and Critical Studies from Birkbeck, University of London (Distinction); and a PhD in Theatre Studies from Birkbeck and RADA. As well as teaching at Westminster, I have taught at Birkbeck and run guest seminars at King’s College and Manchester University.
I have also worked as a theatre reviewer for The Morning Star since April 2014 and am an occasional contributor to the Beesotted Pride of West London Brentford FC podcast.
My research focuses on two areas, the first being revenge and the revenge dramas of the Early Modern period, particularly those by Thomas Kyd, Thomas Middleton, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, John Ford and John Webster. I am particularly interested in how revenge intersects with ideas around temporality, gender, the emotions, and sexuality and desire.
My work has been published in Early Theatre, Critical Survey, and I have a chapter considering the relationship between objects and gender in Thomas Middelton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy in The Revenger's Tragedy: The State of Play (2018), edited by Gretchen Minton. I have a forthcoming book chapter considering the temporalities of anger and revenge in The Spanish Tragedy.
The second, but connected, thread of my research focuses on queer history and questions around queer temporalities. Along with my colleague, Dr Simon Avery, I recently edited Sex, Time and Place: Queer Histories of London c. 1850 to the present (Bloomsbury, 2016). In this collection I have a chapter examining the efficacy of queer temporality theory as a frame through which to consider ideas of queer London. The collection draws on work from the 2013 Queer London conference and following the conference Dr Avery and myself set up the Queer London Research Forum. The Forum curates 2-3 events each academic year.
I am currently working on two critical/creative projects; a memoir about grief and a novel about confession.