Associate ProfessorHelen Young

Dr Helen Young is an Associate Professor in the Writing, Literature and Culture Group in the School of Communication and Creative Arts, leading the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship project "The Politics of Medievalism: Persuasive Narratives" (2024-2028). Helen's research interests include: medievalism, popular culture (especially fantasy, video-games and the works of J. R. R. Tolkien), histories of race and racism, and literature and cultures of extremism. 

An experienced media commentator, Helen has written for The Conversation, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, and been widely interviewed for Australian and international media on topics including The Lord of the Rings franchise, fantasy fiction, violent extremism and video-gaming, and representations of queer parents in children's books.

Currently co-editor of the book series Bloomsbury "New Directions in Medieval Studies," Helen is also a member of the editorial boards for the series "Perspectives on Fantasy" and "Modern History of Politics and Violence." Helen also serves on the Executive Committee of the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism Network, and has previously been President of the Australia and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (2021-2024) and Executive Officer of the International Society for the International Society for the Study of Medievalism (2022).

At Deakin, Helen has served as a member of the Board of the Faculty of Arts and Education, and has previously served as co-convenor of the Faculty Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Network and co-Co-ordinator for Higher Degree by Researcher in the School of Communication and Creative Arts.