Lecturer in Medieval Literature

Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 09 July 2026

The Role

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Medieval Literature (Teaching and Scholarship). This is a full-time (1 FTE) fixed-term appointment for 10 months: the start date is 1 September 2026 and the end date is 30 June 2027.

You will have a PhD in a relevant subject area and proven experience in teaching Old English and Middle English literature to undergraduate students; experience of working with taught postgraduate students is desirable.

The successful candidate will be expected to co-teach two key stage 2 modules, SEL2242: ‘Medieval Worlds’ and SEL2219: ‘Monsters, Misery and Miracles’ as well as contribute to our core Stage 1 module SEL1034: ‘Beginnings’ and to supervise and provide second marking for stage 3 dissertations. They will also act as Academic Advisor to a group of undergraduate students and to take on administration and support tasks appropriate to their role.

A record of high quality research-led teaching in the period is essential; the ability to supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research students working on medieval literature is desirable.

SELLL is a robust and highly motivated intellectual community of 55 academic and research staff working across the fields of English Literature, Creative Writing, and Language and Linguistics. We offer a range of undergraduate degrees, both Single Honours English Literature and Joint Honours English Literature with Creative Writing, Language and Literature, and English Literature and History. We run thriving post-graduate taught and post-graduate research degrees. 

79% of our research in Literature and Creative Writing was rated as world leading in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework assessment, with the THES ranking our School 1st in the English Language and Literature Unit of Assessment and 7th for Modern Languages and Linguistics.

Members of the School produce outstanding research on subjects as chronologically disparate as Medieval literature, modernism, and postcolonial and Black Atlantic literatures. We aim to combine excellence in established areas of research, across a full range of periods and genres, with innovation in critical and textual scholarship.

Particular strengths in early literatures relevant to this post include Dr James Cummings’ work on medieval drama and digital textual studies and Dr Adam Mearns’s work on Old English language and its history. A shared interest in material cultures links medieval with early modern research in the School. Early modern studies at Newcastle has a well-established track record in scholarly editing and recent projects include a Complete Works of Thomas Nashe (de Rycker) and a Complete Poetry of Ben Jonson (Connolly).

The successful candidate will also be embedded in the thriving interdisciplinary community of Medieval and Early Modern scholarship via MEMS (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/mems/).  

Academic staff in Literature also lead on inter-disciplinary research across the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. They are involved in several Faculty Research Groups, including the Newcastle Postcolonial Research Group, the Newcastle Medical Humanities Network, the Gender Research Group, the Performance Research Network, and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Network.

SELLL is the home of the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts, NCLA, which promotes and celebrates the best contemporary literature from the region and beyond. Literature staff regularly collaborate with and teach alongside our Creative Writing team, which includes prize-winning poets, prose writers, playwrights and screen writers.

The School of English offers a variety of undergraduate Literature degrees, both Single Honours English and Joint Honours English with Creative Writing, Language and Literature, and English and History. It also offers an MLitt in English Literature and has a significant postgraduate research community. 

Newcastle University is committed to developing a fully inclusive global University community in which staff and students from all sectors of society can thrive equally. The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics actively encourages applications from under-represented groups.

For further enquiries, please contact Professor Jo Robinson, Head of School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics (jo.robinson2@newcastle.ac.uk), or Dr Kirsten MacLeod, Head of the English Literature Subject Group (kirsten.macleod@newcastle.ac.uk).

We ask that candidates submit a covering letter of up to 2 A4 pages only, alongside a CV. No other materials are required at shortlisting stage.

Key Accountabilities

• Design and deliver high quality teaching and learning material, resources, and activities in Medieval Language and Literature and related areas to students in line with School and Faculty teaching objectives
• Teach on undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including co-teaching team taught modules 

• Provide a range of timely student support to enhance the student experience and achievements
• Set, mark and assess coursework, providing timely and effective feedback to students
• Provide personal tutoring and pastoral guidance (when appropriate, obtaining specialist support and advice)

• Supervise undergraduate and taught postgraduate students’ dissertations and research projects

• Contribute to the planning, design and development of modules and programmes to improve teaching across the School and Faculty
• Evaluate own practice and presently have or have a willingness to work towards a category of Fellowship with the HEA
• Integrate scholarship, research and/or professional activities with teaching and supporting learning, as appropriate
• Work collaboratively with colleagues in the School and across the University
• Undertake administrative duties as required by the Head of School

The Person

Knowledge and Experience

• Teaching experience at undergraduate level in Medieval Language and Literature
• An interest in and engagement with high quality teaching and scholarship
• Evidence of research outputs that are commensurate with career stage
• Experience of/potential of providing academic guidance and/or pastoral care to students

• Experience of/potential of providing support or mentoring to colleagues or students

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to maintaining and supporting a diverse and inclusive working environment, in which all colleagues (academic and Professional Services) and students are treated fairly and respectfully
• Excellent organisational, time management and presentation skills
• Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative

• Willingness and ability to act in a collegial manner, making a positive contribution to maintaining and enhancing a collaborative environment that values and supports excellent research and impact, teaching and scholarship, and academic citizenship
• Willingness and ability to assume administrative responsibilities

Knowledge, Skills and Experience (Desirable)

• Knowledge of Early Modern Literature
• Teaching experience at postgraduate level in Medieval Literature and the ability to supervise postgraduate research students working on Medieval Literature.
• Teaching qualification (Higher Education Academy Fellowship or equivalent) or the expectation of completing a teaching qualification while in post

Qualifications

• You will have a PhD in hand in a relevant subject area

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29532