Speakers
Majestic Methodologists
Sandra Paziewicz
is a graduate of English and Communication (BA Hons) at Edinburgh Napier
University. Currently, she is studying towards her MSc in Literature and Modernity
at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests focus on the influence
of technological developments – in particular mass communication – on art in a
wider socio-political context.
Pablo San Martín studied Spanish as an undergraduate at the University of Chile, and came to Edinburgh to do an MSc in Literature and Society in 2011. His PhD research focuses on Percy Shelley’s use of myth as a means of rethinking political agency and historical change. He also enjoys creative writing, and has published two plays and a poem book. Jing Jing is a first year PhD student in Chinese studies. She earned her BA in English Language and her Master’s in Translation Studies from the University of International Relations, Beijing. She got her second Master’s on China and International Relations from Aalborg University, Denmark. Her interdisciplinary research on China-EU relations combines language with international relations – when not being distracted by her friends! Eystein Thanisch graduated in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from Cambridge University, specialising in medieval Gaelic and medieval Latin. He obtained an MSc (R) in Celtic Studies from Edinburgh University, dissertating on frame dialogue in medieval Gaelic literature. He is in the third year of a PhD on the late medieval reception of the eleventh-century scholar, Flann Mainistrech. Wider research interests include medieval literary theory, historiography, chronology and manuscript studies. Panel Chair: Nicole Cote is an MSc by Research student who is currently exploring Charles Dickens's novels in relation to post-modern (and dare she say digital) concepts, such as networking and crowdsourcing. Outside of research she enjoys keeping herself highly caffeinated, discovering new bakeries around Edinburgh, and Netflix binging. |
Screen Scrutineers
Michelle Devereaux is a PhD candidate in Film Studies. She received her MSc in the same subject from Edinburgh University in 2008. Her research focuses on historical conceptions of romanticism in the works of contemporary Hollywood filmmakers, such as Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, and Spike Jonze. She will happily argue the finer points of the latest Jarmusch film with you over a pint, provided she gets the last word.
James Mooney is currently undertaking an MSc by Research in Film Studies. His interest is in the intersection between philosophy and film. Since graduating with an MA in Mental Philosophy in 2002, James has been employed in the University’s Office of Lifelong Learning. He also curates the Filmosophy season of philosophical films at the Filmhouse cinema. Mei-Ling McNamara is an investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker, covering human rights and social justice issues. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh in Trans-Disciplinary Documentary Film. Her project explores the political, legal and psychological impacts on survivors of forced labour in Britain. Her research interests include documentary, human rights, law, social and criminal justice, human trafficking, forced labour, and trauma. Panel Chair: Barbara Tesio completed an Msc in Comparative Literature at Edinburgh University, and is now pursuing a PhD in Scandinavian Studies under the supervision of Dr. Bjarne Thorup Thomsen. Bilingual in Italian and Danish, she has always been interested in different languages and cultures. Her research concerns Karen Blixen’s works, with a particular focus on the relationship between language, displacement and identity. |
Paper Politicians
After completing his Master’s degree at the University of Venice, Saverio Leopardi started a PhD in IMES in January, studying contemporary Palestinian history. He has travelled to the Arab East for research, visiting Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. He wants to become an historian because he’s fascinated by the events that could have occurred but didn’t.
Deirdre Stack-Marques is an MSc student in Comparative Literature, having studied English and History as an undergraduate. Her research focuses on the representation of rural society in Russian and Icelandic literature. She enjoys teaching herself languages, delving into family history, experimenting in the kitchen, and getting slightly too competitive at pub quizzes. Fiona Hobbs Milne is studying for an MSc in Literature and Society. Her research currently focuses on radical British writers from the period around the French Revolution, including Byron, Godwin and Jacobin novelists. Outside her studies, Fiona enjoys walking in the Scottish countryside and knitting, and has just started re-reading all the Harry Potter books. Emily Anderson is doing an MSc in Comparative and General Literature, and hopes to cling to academia for as long as possible. Her research focuses on the 1916 Shakespeare Tercentenary in England and Scotland. Outside the library, she enjoys rowing and writing short stories of dubious merit (not at the same time). Panel Chair: George Barker is writing her PhD on ‘Reception of Classical Antiquity in Post-1953 Russian Poetry’. She studied Russian and Latin at Worcester College, Oxford, and is amazed that she still has not been forced to choose between them. She has a Red Lored Amazon parrot called Rosie, who upstages her frequently. |
Reflective Reception-ists
Susanna Grazzini has recently completed an MSc in Italian Studies on the Anglophone reception of the experimental Italian author Carlo Emilio Gadda – a topic she aims to further develop in her PhD programme. She loves being a tutor of Italian at the University, and in her free time she also enjoys giving dance classes and dog-sitting.
Lana Orešić has an MA in Indology and Anthropology, and is a PhD student of literature at the University of Zagreb. She is currently a visiting student at the University of Edinburgh researching the commentarial tradition in Indian Classical Love Poetry. When not pondering matters of love, she enjoys hillwalking, cycling, and the occasional outburst of silliness. Panel Chair: Giulia Toto’ has completed her PhD in Italian Studies, focusing on Italian (re)translations of Woolf’s and Joyce’s stream of consciousness novels. Outside research, she enjoys teaching her language at the University, doing yoga and knitting. Precipitous PechaKucha-ists
Laura Chapot is a PhD
candidate in Comparative Literature at the University of Edinburgh. She
investigates the discursive constructions of the concept of Decadence
within and across the German and Scandinavian fin de siècle cultural
contexts. She tutors German language and literature, and was co-editor
of FORUM – Edinburgh’s Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts – in
2013.
Victoria Anker gained her BA in History at Oxford University and her MSc in Renaissance to Enlightenment at Edinburgh University. Having flirted briefly with the non-academic world, she quickly realised her preference for libraries and archives over PR campaigns and media events. Victoria is researching celebratory performances, religious rituals, quasi-sacred customs, and ceremonial festivities enacted during the British Civil Wars. She is the current co-editor of FORUM Journal. Lisa Möckli recently completed her PhD in Translation Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focused on the role translation played in the representation of the Third Reich in the French and British media during the inter-war period. She is currently working as a lecturer in German language at Fife College and ticking items off her ‘things I always wanted to do but never had the time’ list. Panel Chair: Muireann Crowley was one half of the power team – Kate Dunn being the other – behind LLC Blethers, an evening of academic storytelling Powered by PechaKucha. She is a second year PhD candidate in the Department of English Literature; her research focuses on representations of authorial identity in early nineteenth century Irish and Scottish literature. She enjoys decentred learning and the rich postgraduate research culture in LLC. |