Siobhan Carroll

Siobhan Carroll is a renowned author and Associate Professor of English at the University of Delaware. Her expertise lies in the fields of British literature from 1750-1850, the Romantic Century, and modern science fiction and fantasy. She has a special interest in exploring the relationship between literature, science, and the natural world, particularly in the context of the growth of the British Empire.

Carroll's work in British literature from the Romantic Century focuses on the ways in which literature has shaped our understanding of empire, community, and the natural world. Her first book, "An Empire of Air and Water: Uncolonizable Space in the British Imagination, 1750-1850," delves into the complex relationship between literature, science, and exploration during the expansion of the British Empire. The book explores how natural spaces such as the atmosphere and the North Pole, once inaccessible to humans, became the settings for fantastic tales as inventions such as the air balloon brought these spaces within the potential reach of human empire.

Through her analysis of various literary works, Carroll demonstrates how authors reacted to the 'invasion' of previously imagined spaces and the opportunities it presented for imperial expansion. She highlights how writers crafted images of 'uncolonizable' spaces that reflected their attitudes towards the growth of the British Empire. These images, in turn, helped shape the stories we tell in fiction and in politics, such as the notion that the Arctic and Antarctic are identical 'polar spaces' that should be grouped together by scientists and politicians. Carroll's work, therefore, sheds light on the significant role that literature plays in shaping our understanding of the world and its various spaces.