Dr. Fraser Easton

Biography

I grew up in North Vancouver and studied physics and math at the University of British Columbia before switching to English. In graduate school, I specialized in British literature from the period of 1740 to 1830 and wrote my dissertation on cross-dressing in eighteenth-century culture and society. This led to a deep interest in history, initially nurtured during my Killam post-doctoral fellowship at the History Department of the University of British Columbia, before I came to the University of Waterloo to teach and research on eighteenth-century Romantic literature and history. My research combines close reading, extensive archival work, and careful attention to conceptual and epistemic developments, producing new approaches to the study of communication, gender, and class in literary, periodical, and political-economic works. My interdisciplinary research has crossed literary, historical, and rhetorical disciplines to generate new insights into labour, gender, and literature. Selected publications include works on Christopher Smart and Jane Austen, as well as examination of rhetoric and elocution in the eighteenth century, reflecting my commitment to uncovering the intertwined paths of literature and societal dynamics during these significant historical periods.

Research Interests

Experience