Professor Alan Downie
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Professor Alan Downie was appointed by Richard Hoggart in 1978 and served at Goldsmiths for nearly four decades
He held senior roles including Head of English, Dean of Arts, and later Senior Pro-Warden (Academic).
During more than a decade on the Senior Management Team, he oversaw key areas of academic administration before returning to teaching in 2002. Alan inspired generations of students with courses on detective fiction, poetry, Shakespeare, and eighteenth-century literature, consistently earning the highest praise in feedback. Renowned for his wit and eloquence, he brought distinction to graduation ceremonies as College Orator.
An internationally acknowledged expert on late seventeenth and early eighteenth-century politics, Alan is celebrated for his unrivalled knowledge of Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and Henry Fielding. His major works include Robert Harley and the Press (1979), Jonathan Swift, Political Writer (1984), and A Political Biography of Henry Fielding (2009), alongside editing The Oxford Handbook of the Eighteenth-Century Novel (2016).
Today, he continues to share his expertise, delighting audiences with his acclaimed public talks.