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Johanna Harris awarded S. Ernest Sprott Fellowship

Early modern literature scholar Associate Professor Johanna Harris has been awarded the S. Ernest Sprott Fellowship to study the letters of 17^th century Puritans in England.

The fellowship, valued at up to $50,000, will allow Associate Professor Harris to conduct research at the British Library, as well as library archives in Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester. She will gain access to correspondence by early modern English radical Protestants, including the highly influential Richard Baxter, who left behind one of the largest collection of letters of any 17^th century figure.

Associate Professor Harris’ research into 17^th century Puritan letters will lead to two new books - a scholarly edition of Richard Baxter’s letters, and a monograph on letter writing networks from the Reformation through to the Restoration.

The 10-week research trip will also mark her scholarly return to the UK. Associate Professor Harris spent twelve years as a Senior Lecturer in Renaissance Literature at the University of Exeter and founded the award-winning Exeter Care Homes Reading Project.

A lecturer and Postgraduate Course Coordinator for ACU’s Western Civilisation program in North Sydney, Associate Professor Harris is the first Sprott Fellow for the Faculty of Education and Arts.

“I am delighted to have been awarded this fellowship, which will enable me to complete the necessary archival research for my book on religious politics and epistolary writing in early modern Britain, and the first volume of Richard Baxter’s correspondence for Oxford University Press,” Associate Professor Harris said.

“It is an honour to receive a fellowship in the name of Professor Sprott, who made such a significant contribution to our knowledge of early modern literature.”

The S Ernest Sprott Fellowship is open to Australian researchers and writers under the age of 45 for scholarly study outside of Australia. Sprott Fellows are expected to use their research to publish new books relating to dramatic or non-dramatic English literature of the 16^th or 17^th centuries.

Executive Dean of Education and Arts at ACU, Professor Mary Ryan, said the fellowship recognises Associate Professor Harris’ expertise in the intersection of early modern literature, religion and politics.

“Johanna Harris is a fine scholar who has already done significant research on the influence of writers like Richard Baxter,” Professor Ryan said.

“She is incredibly deserving of the Sprott Fellowship and I look forward to seeing her research come to fruition in her two upcoming publications.”

Learn more about research opportunities at ACU through our Graduate Research School.