Hi and welcome to my website (aka my attempt to present myself as a professional and successful PhD candidate).
Originally from Pennsylvania, I've been living all across the UK for over seven years, studying all things medieval. It began with an undergraduate degree at the University of St Andrews (technically a Scottish MA, which has caused much confusion to those who read my CV and see a lack of a BA) in Mediaeval History, where I researched the concept of the Old Norse dragon in historical texts. This, as I'm sure you can imagine, was less about history and more about literature, language, folklore, and symbolism. Thus, I shifted my focus in my masters at the University of Cambridge (once again, not an MA as elsewhere but an MPhil because Cambridge loves to be fancy) in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Taking courses in Old Norse and Germanic Philology, I focused on the role of the undead in Eyrbyggja saga and the potential meanings of their encounters with the living. Now, I'm at the University of Leeds to do my PhD (finally a title that we all expect from a research degree) in English, working on a study of heroes and monsters in Old Norse literature, and the role of the monstrous encounter in understanding cultural and literary desires. In other words, I'm studying fantastical and wonderful sagas to understand why heroes go out to fight monsters, what drives the encounter, and why we continue to be fascinated by them.
When I'm not focusing on my PhD topic, you can find me working on my secondary research: the reception and adaptation of Old Norse and other medieval literature into modern day pop culture. More often than not, it has been British and American comic books, including the works of Jack Kirby, Neil Gaiman, Roy Thomas and Al Ewing. It's been said that superhero stories are the mythology of the modern day, so the understanding of the mythological origins and references is fascinating to me (plus it lets me read lots and lots of comics)!
If you want to have a chat about heroes, monsters, or superheroes, please contact me! Follow me on Bluesky for updates about what I'm up to and keep an eye out for blog posts and other fun stuff about my PhD adventures. If you'd like to discuss any potential research collaborations, please email me!
Originally from Pennsylvania, I've been living all across the UK for over seven years, studying all things medieval. It began with an undergraduate degree at the University of St Andrews (technically a Scottish MA, which has caused much confusion to those who read my CV and see a lack of a BA) in Mediaeval History, where I researched the concept of the Old Norse dragon in historical texts. This, as I'm sure you can imagine, was less about history and more about literature, language, folklore, and symbolism. Thus, I shifted my focus in my masters at the University of Cambridge (once again, not an MA as elsewhere but an MPhil because Cambridge loves to be fancy) in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Taking courses in Old Norse and Germanic Philology, I focused on the role of the undead in Eyrbyggja saga and the potential meanings of their encounters with the living. Now, I'm at the University of Leeds to do my PhD (finally a title that we all expect from a research degree) in English, working on a study of heroes and monsters in Old Norse literature, and the role of the monstrous encounter in understanding cultural and literary desires. In other words, I'm studying fantastical and wonderful sagas to understand why heroes go out to fight monsters, what drives the encounter, and why we continue to be fascinated by them.
When I'm not focusing on my PhD topic, you can find me working on my secondary research: the reception and adaptation of Old Norse and other medieval literature into modern day pop culture. More often than not, it has been British and American comic books, including the works of Jack Kirby, Neil Gaiman, Roy Thomas and Al Ewing. It's been said that superhero stories are the mythology of the modern day, so the understanding of the mythological origins and references is fascinating to me (plus it lets me read lots and lots of comics)!
If you want to have a chat about heroes, monsters, or superheroes, please contact me! Follow me on Bluesky for updates about what I'm up to and keep an eye out for blog posts and other fun stuff about my PhD adventures. If you'd like to discuss any potential research collaborations, please email me!