Samantha George
Dr Samantha George is a Senior Lecturer in Literature in the Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities Research Institute at the University of Hertfordshire. She completed a PhD at the University of York in 2004, then taught in the Department of English Literature at Sheffield University till taking up her post at Hertfordshire in 2007. She is known for her research on eighteenth century literature and science with a particular emphasis on the role of women and botany. She is also known for her work on Gothic and vampire literature and culture, and is the convener of the 'Open Graves , Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture' (OGOM) research project at the University of Hertfordshire. In 2010, she organized the first "Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture" conference, which achieved international coverage. In 2012 a symposium to mark the centenary of Bram Stoker's death was held. In the field of feminist botany she is best known for her book "Botany, sexuality, and women's writing 1760-1830 : from modest shoot to forward plant" (2007), following in the steps of Londa Schiebinger and Ann Shteir in the field of gender and science, detailing  the exclusion of women from botany after Linnaeus' classification was published in English (1783–1785), because the sexual reproduction of plants was considered harmful to 'female modesty'. Since then she has continued to research and publish on the intersections of literature, women and science, and in particular botany. She has been Reviews Editor for Literature for the "Journal of Eighteenth Century Studies". Membership of learned societies include the British Society of Literature and Science, the British Association of Romantic Studies, the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the International Gothic Association. Dr George publishes under the pen name of Sam  George. Publications. Select publications include; 2015 2014 2013 2011 2010 2007 2006 2005