Dr. Ruth Abbott

Biography

Ruth Abbott is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge, where she also serves as a Fellow and Director of Studies at St John's College. She has held fellowships at esteemed institutions including Cornell University, the University of Oxford, the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at Cambridge, Harvard University's Villa Tatti, and the Huntington Library and Beinecke Library. At the undergraduate level, she teaches practical criticism and the history of literature, focusing on the 18th and 19th centuries. For graduate students, she supervises MPhil and PhD candidates in textual scholarship and related topics. Abbott has received student-led teaching awards for her exceptional supervision and lecturing skills, including the Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching. Her research interests focus on 18th-19th century manuscripts, emphasizing note-taking practices, compositional and reading habits, and the historical organization of knowledge.

Research Interests

Experience