Paul Giles has taught at the Universities of Nottingham and Cambridge as well as Portland State University in Oregon. From 2002 to 2009, he was Professor of American Literature and Director of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford, while also serving (between 2005 and 2007) as President of the International American Studies Association. In 2010, he moved to the University of Sydney, Australia, as Challis Chair of English Literature.