Douglas is a Senior Lecturer in 20th Century American Literature, English and American Studies at the University of Manchester. He is series editor for the trade imprint The British Pop Archive, a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Douglas has published work on American cold war culture, JFK, Harold Norse, Jack Kerouac, Zora Neale Hurston, Tom Waits, William Burroughs, D.W. Griffith, film noir, and jazz and Pentecostalism.
Over the last fifteen years, his research has focused particularly on the American writer James Baldwin (1924-1987). In his talk, Douglas will explore the writer’s relationship to the civil rights movement, transatlantic culture, music, religion, and Black queer writing. He will also read from his forthcoming book: Walking in the Dark - James Baldwin, My Father, and Me (Manchester University Press, 2024).