Helen Barr (born 1961) is an academic specialising in English literature on the late medieval period. She has spent her entire career at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and, in 2016, the university awarded her the title of Professor of English Literature.

Career

Barr completed her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degrees at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

. In 1995, she was elected a fellow at LMH and appointed a university lecturer in English."Prof Helen Barr"
''Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford''. Retrieved 22 January 2017. Her appointment was made permanent until retirement age in 2000. Barr has also taught at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

and, as of 2017, is vice-principal of LMH. In 2016, the University of Oxford awarded her the title of Professor of English Literature."Recognition of Distinction: Successful Applicants 2016"
, ''The University of Oxford Gazette'', no. 5143, vol. 147, 29 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

Research

Barr research focuses on English literature in the late medieval period, and she has published books on

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's influence on visual and literary culture. She has also researched the literary geography of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Her published works include: * ''The Piers Plowman Tradition: A Critical Edition of Pierce the Ploughman’s Crede, Richard the Redeless, Mum and the Sothsegger, and The Crowned King'' (London: Everyman, 1993). * ''Signes and Sothe: Language in the Piers Plowman Tradition'' (Cambridge: Boydell and Brewer, 1994). * ''Socioliterary Practice in Late Medieval England'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). * (edited with Ann M. Hutchison) ''Text and Controversy from Wyclif to Bale: Essays In Honour of Anne Hudson'' (Turnhout: Brepols, 2005). * ''The Digby Poems: A New Edition of the Lyrics'' (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2009). * "The 'Pearl-Poet'", in ''The Bible in English Literature'', ed. Rebecca Lemon et al. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). * "Contemporary Events", in ''A Concise Companion to Middle English Literature'', ed. Marilyn Corrie (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). * "Religious Practice in Chaucer's ''Prioresse's Tale'': Rabbit and/or Duck?", ''Studies in the Age of Chaucer'', vol. 32 (2010), 39–66. * "Wrinkled Deep in Time: Emily and Arcite in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''", ''Shakespeare Survey'', vol. 65 (2012), 12–25. * "Major episodes and moments in Piers Plowman B", in ''The Cambridge Companion to Piers Plowman,'' eds., Andrew Cole and Andrew Galloway (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp. 15–32. * ''Transporting Chaucer'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2014). * "Leicester", in ''Europe: A Literary History'', ed. David Wallace (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 285–297.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Helen Living people 1961 births Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Academics of the University of Sussex British women medievalists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers Chaucer scholars