Sophie Rainbow

Profile

Biography

I am currently a Research Associate at the University of York, researching mid-century Black American literature as part of the Archiving the Inner City project funded by the Leverhulme Trust and led by Dr Gareth Millington. 

I have also been undertaking a PhD as part of the same project since early 2022; this is due to be completed in late 2025.

Research

Overview

I am primarily interested in Black American literature, experimental narrative temporalities, and Urban Studies associated with Harlem, New York.

My postdoctoral research is a continuation of work undertaken as part of my PhD thesis, which is entitled '"A Slightly Different Sense of Time": Experimental Narrative Temporality in Harlem Literature'. The project spans from 1900 to the present day, and argues that Black authors have consistently engaged with experimental narrative temporalities when writing about Harlem as a way of both representing and contributing to its unique sense of identity.

In my postdoctoral research, I am focusing on Colson Whitehead's use of temporality in his recent Harlem trilogy.

I consistently take an interdisciplinary approach throughout my research, incorporating sociological and historical frameworks, as well as considerations of film, photography, and visual arts. Reflecting this, my PhD is based in the Department of English, but my postdoctoral role is based in the Department of Sociology.

Publications

Selected publications

I am currently preparing two publications on Colson Whitehead's ongoing Harlem trilogy, and I will also be contributing to the Archiving the Inner-City book, due to be published by Bristol University Press.