Personal profile
Biography
I was born and brought up in West Yorkshire, England, and educated at the local primary school and selective state high school. I studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), part of the University of London, where I completed an Honours degree in Sociology and a Ph.D. in the Sociology of Literature.
I have subsequently taught at the LSE, the University of Canberra, Goldsmiths' College London, the University of Leeds and the Freie Universität Berlin. I was appointed Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Monash University in 2000, Professor of English and Comparative Literature in 2012, Emeritus Professor in 2013.
I have also held visiting appointments in the Theory, Culture and Society Centre at Nottingham Trent University, the School of English at the University of Liverpool and the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick.
My academic interests include contemporary critical theory, the sociology of literature, seventeenth-century English literature, English and French literary utopianism and European science fiction. My work has been published in English in Australia, India, the USA and the UK and has been translated into Chinese, French, German, Korean, Persian, Portuguese and Turkish.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 5 Gender Equality -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 6 Finished
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Locating Science Fiction
Milner, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
3/01/12 → 6/03/15
Project: Research
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Imagining the Great Southern Land: Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction in Australia
Milner, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Benjamin, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Burgmann, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rigby, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Weller, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Buchanan, I. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, University of Melbourne
12/02/07 → 22/12/10
Project: Research
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Demanding the impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction.
Milner, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Benjamin, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Boer, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Buchanan, I. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Rigby, C. (Chief Investigator (CI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, Monash University, Charles Darwin University
14/02/05 → 4/07/08
Project: Research
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Demanding the impossible: utopianism in philosophy, literature and science fiction
Milner, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/04 → 31/12/04
Project: Research
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Reason in revolt: the role of intellectuals in Australian radicalism
Milner, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Burgmann, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Macintyre, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
1/01/04 → 31/12/06
Project: Research
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Guns under the table: class and revolution in Kim Stanley Robinson's climate fiction
Milner, A., Nov 2025, SF Commentary, 122, p. 27-33 7 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Other
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What is cli-fi?
Milner, A., Jul 2025, In: Australian Journal of Environmental Education. 41, 3, p. 409-419 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Progress versus catastrophe? utopian hope in German Marxist anti-fascism
Milner, A., 2024, Rethinking Democracy for Post-Utopian Worlds : Alternative Political Projects After the Sovereign State. Casero, J. L. & Urabayen, J. (eds.). 1st ed. Cham Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 147-159 13 p. (Palgrave Studies in Utopianism).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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Raymond Williams transformed Marxist cultural theory
Milner, A., 18 Sept 2024, Jacobin, p. 1-5 5 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Essay › Research
Open Access -
Class and revolution in the climate fictions of Kim Stanley Robinson: transition to postcapitalism
Milner, A., 2023, Cli-Fi and Class: Socioeconomic Justice in Contemporary American Climate Fiction. Rosenthal, D. J. & de Lara Molesky, J. (eds.). 1st ed. Virginia USA: University of Virginia, p. 151-166 16 p. (Under the Sign of Nature: Explorations in Environmental Humanities).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Annual Conference 2025
Milner, A. (Speaker)
26 Nov 2025 → 28 Nov 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Posthuman Condition in the Anthropocene
Milner, A. (Invited speaker)
2 Mar 2024 → 3 Mar 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Marxism 2023
Milner, A. (Speaker)
29 Jun 2023 → 2 Jul 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Annual Conference 2023
Milner, A. (Speaker)
6 Dec 2023 → 8 Dec 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Utopian Studies Society Conference 2022
Milner, A. (Speaker)
13 Jul 2022 → 15 Jul 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference