Rebecca Ironic that my most recent post (eight months ago!) said that I was just about to start my new job -- and here we are again! After I finish at Sheffield at the end of June, I'm off to Warwick -- all change!
Rebecca changed a position.
Rebecca changed an About section.
Rebecca First day of my new job!!
Project Officer: PG Recruitment, University of Warwick
Thesis Title: Writing Charms: The Transmission and Use of Charms in Anglo-Saxon England and Beyond
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Dr. Philip Shaw
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About
Having spent a year being an Associate University Teacher in Historical Linguistics at the University of Sheffield, I'm now moving on to be Project Officer in charge of postgraduate recruitment at the University of Warwick.
I'm looking forward to flexing my communication muscles, and am excited about this new challenge. I'm not leaving academia behind though; I have several articles in the works, and hope to see many of you on the conference circuit as usual!
The main focus of my research is on the Anglo-Saxon charms, building on my doctoral research into theft and blood-staunching charms. My thesis was based on a methodology which reads charms within their manuscript context and considers them as an integral part of a larger organisational structure, examining how the charms relate to surrounding texts in terms of performance and usage. At the heart of the thesis is the aim to deconstruct binary oppositions which are often applied to charms (pagan/Christian, unofficial/official, magic/science, oral/written), culminating in a discussion of what the charms can tell us about how the Anglo-Saxons understood and constructed gender.
In the future, I hope to do more public engagement work: knowledge transfer relationships generate dynamic research in contexts that challenge academic thinking and encourage innovation on both sides of the partnership. I am currently a Public Engagement Ambassador for the National Centre of Coordinating Public Engagement, and have worked extensively with local community partners on various projects.
Currently, I'm working on Early-Modern transcriptions of the charms with Gavin Schwartz-Leeper from the University of Sheffield, examining the ways in which these texts are repurposed by the first Anglo-Saxonists. I'm also working on an article which interrogates the methods archaeologists have used to interpret 'magical' or 'ritual' objects from Anglo-Saxon sites in the context of Anglo-Saxon textual records.
When I'm not researching, teaching and generally being scholarly, I read anything by Stephen King, watch anything written by Joss Whedon and spend inordinate amounts of time wishing to join Starfleet. I also scuba dive (enthusiastically, if somewhat inexpertly).
www.engagewitholdenglish.co.uk
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