Reyam Rammahi

Thesis title: Romanticism, Oriental History, and the Literary Construction of Occidental Identity: Gender, Religion, and Liberty.

Supervisor: Professor Ros Ballaster

I finished my DPhil in English in 2025. My research interests include the Enlightenment, British Romanticism, orientalism, travel writing, the Romantic gothic, onomastics, and cultural encounters between the East and West. I am particularly interested in the historical traces of the Orient and Islam in Romantic texts, with particular attention to female historical figures. I am also interested in the interconnections between history, politics, and literature. 

My research expertise includes working as a research assistant as part of the ERC-funded TIDE project, led by Professor Nandini Das, and which won the Oxford Vice-Chancellor's Innovation & Engagement Award. 

Publications: 

-"Can Safie Speak? Language and Representation of the Oriental Woman in Frankenstein," Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies 18 (2022). 

- I edited the volume Death, Sickness, and Plagues in Nineteenth-Century British Literature. It is currently under review and scheduled for publication with Vernon Press in 2026-27. 

- I edited another volume, Mary Shelley's The Last Man ​​​​​​and Global Issues. It is currently under review and scheduled for publication with Vernon Press in 2026-27. 

-My article "Great Rhymers”: Representations of Arab and Muslim Cultures in Robert Southey’s Thalaba the Destroyer" is under review with The Wordsworth Circle.

-My project, Byron's Orientalism, is in progress and is to be pitched to the Cambridge University Press. 

-My project, Muslim Female Figures in Romantic Texts, is in progress and is scheduled for publication with Anthem Press in 2026-28. 

Selected invited lectures & conference papers: 

-‘Baghdad in Romantic Thought’. British Association for Romantic Studies Conference, Birmingham (2026).

-‘The Wisdom and Tradition of the Arab and Islamic Worlds in Romantic Thought’. British Association for Romantic Studies Conference, Birmingham (2026).

-‘Notions of Freedom in Lord Byron’s “Oriental Tales”’. 16th International Student Byron Conference, Greece (2026).

-‘Deserts and Subterranea of the East in Robert Southey’s Thalaba the Destroyer (1801)’. Romantic Elements: Rocks, Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850, Manchester (2026).

-‘Advice on Graduate and Funding Applications for US, UK, and Australian Universities’. American University in Baghdad (Invited Lecture, 2025).

-‘Advice on Graduate and Funding Applications for US, UK, and Australian Universities’. University of Baghdad (Invited Lecture, 2025).

-‘Maria Edgeworth’s Murad the Unlucky’. University of Melbourne (Invited Lecture, 2025).

-‘Entanglements of History, Politics, and Literature in Byron’s Oriental Tales’. AHRC Eighth International Conference, Oxford (2023).

-‘Boundaries in Byron’s The Bride of Abydos’. British Association for Romantic Studies (BARS) ECR & PGR Conference, Edinburgh (2023).

-‘The Arabian Nights as a Source for Eighteenth-Century Gothic Novels’. Northeast Modern Language Association, Baltimore (2022).

-‘Death, Sickness, and Plagues in 19th Century British Literature’. Northeast Modern Language Association’s 53rd Convention, Online (2022).

-‘“Heaven Sent that Serpent to Punish”: Evil Women in The Monk and Vathek’. Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association’s 118th Annual Conference, Online (2021).

-‘Politics of Translation: Mary Shelley’s Safie Between English and Arabic’. City University of New York, Online (2021).

-‘Ideological Infections: Asia as the Source of Plagues Between Shelley’s The Last Man and the Covid-19 Crisis’. University of St Thomas Graduate Conference, Online (2021).

-‘Can Safie Speak? Language and Representation of the Oriental Woman in Frankenstein. Northeast Modern Language Association 52nd Convention, Online (2021).

-‘Generating the Oriental Tale: First- and Second-Generation Romantics’. Romantic Studies Association of Australasia Conference, Melbourne (2021).

-‘Othering Eastern Women in Frankenstein’. Student Research Symposium, San Diego State University (2020).

Chaired conference panels:

-‘Romantic Orientalism in Writing and Art’. British Association for Romantic Studies Conference, University of Birmingham (forthcoming 2026).

-‘Arab and Islamic Worlds in Sir William Jones’s Works and their Influence on Romantic Thought’. British Association for Romantic Studies Conference, University of Birmingham (forthcoming 2026).

-Two panels on female oppression in British literature and one panel on Arab and Muslim womanhood between history and literature. Northeast Modern Language Association’s 54th Convention, Online (2023).

-‘Architecture, Space, and Literature’. Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association’s 118th Annual Conference, Online (2021).

Archival Research: 

-Robert Southey's early editions of Thalaba the Destroyer at the British Library.

-Mary Shelley's Frankenstein notebooks, the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 

-Lord Byron's book sale catalogues by Peter Cochran. 

Certificates and Awards:

-Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). 

-Oxford-Qatar Thatcher Graduate Scholarship (DPhil fund).

-Fulbright Foreign Student Program (MA fund). 

-Dean's Award for Research and Scholarship (SDSU, College of Arts and Letters). 

-The Hansell Fund (Somerville College, Oxford). 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reyam-rammahi-0203173a7/