<
Research Students at work
The University has PhD students working in many fields. These examples describe the work of a few of our actual students, past and present. They are by no means restrictive or exhaustive.
Jo Howe (PhD English) completed a BA (Hons) in English Literature at Bath Spa University in 2007 and a MRes in English in 2009, for which she produced a critical edition of part of Heywood's If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody (1605). She began her PhD, a critical edition of Samuel Rowley's When You See Me, You Know Me (1605), in January 2010. Her AHRC-funded research will aim to rehabilitate the play as an important dramatisation of the Henrician Reformation and will draw attention to Rowley as a key figure in the early modern theatre. Jo has also been employed as a research assistant for the History of Oxford University Press project since November 2008.
Rob Taylor (PhD Media) Rob is a former lifestyle and specialist magazine editor combining freelance writing with studying towards a doctorate focusing on journalistic practices within the videogame industry. Working with his extensive network of contacts – from fellow media workers to marketers and publishers – Rob’s research explores the existing currency of videogames journalism – in particular print games journalism – examining the putative threats from a wide variety of intra and extra-industry factors. His investigation is concerned with examining the ways in which the games press – off and online – is both reacting and responding to this continuously shifting scenario.
Samantha Harvey (PhD Creative Writing) Samantha Harvey completed her PhD in 2012, with the support of a full time AHRC studentship. Sam is a former MA in Creative Writing student at the University, where she graduated with Distinction. Her MA novel, The Wilderness (Jonathan Cape, 2012) was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. The Wilderness was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It won the Betty Trask Award and the AMI Literature Award. In 2011, Sam was selected as one of The Guardian’s ‘Twelve Best New Novelists’. Sam’s PhD novel, All is Song (Jonathan Cape, 2012) is a contemporary telling of the life of Socrates. Sam’s PhD in Creative Writing also comprised a piece of contextualising research, entitled Philosophy and the Novel. Here, Sam explores how fiction can encompass philosophical ideas whilst not forsaking the forward motion of narrative and story. All is Song has received high praise in reviews, including The Guardian, The Independent, and The Observer. Sam now teaches the Novel Writing Workshop on the MA in Creative Writing programme at Bath Spa, and also supervises MA manuscript students.
Rob Magnuson Smith (PhD Creative Writing) Rob began his PhD in 2010, and currently holds our International Graduate Student Research Fellowship. Rob grew up in both America and England. While working on his MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he graduated with distinction in 2010, Rob was David Higham Scholar. Rob’s PhD novel is The American of Ditchling, a dark comedy about an American investigating his English roots. Rob’s contextualising research comprises a collection of narrative nonfiction, Transatlantic Meditations. These pieces focus on the concerns of his novel, and his research practices. This includes the relationship of alcohol, food and romantic love to writing; the legacy of Rob’s debut novel, The Gravedigger; the influence of Thomas Bernhard’s style; and Rob’s investigation into the life of the artist Eric Gill, who appears in The American of Ditchling as a ghost. Rob’s first novel, The Gravedigger (University of New Orleans Press, 2010) won the Gold Medal in the William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition. Rob’s articles and stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Istanbul Review, Playboy, Tremors Magazine, and The Guardian. Rob teaches novel and short story writing at Bath Spa, at both BA and MA level.
Amy Mallett (PhD Music) is working on Models of compositional approach for contemporary musical theatre: A practice-led study of the constraints faced by the composer-collaborator and how these shape the musical product.
Alexis Porfiriadis (PhD Music) is working on a project entitled Towards a collective/participatory approach to composition and performance: applications of collective improvisation and verbal/graphic notation in composition for music ensembles.
Luba Diduch (PhD Art) Luba is investigating the possibility that within the context of architectural spaces, interactive artworks are enlarged through the architectonic systems that surround them. As part of her research, she has been re-evaluating the totality and finitude of an artwork’s interface within new media practice and the capacity for audiences to make extensions to the life of the work. Along with her PhD at Bath School of Art & Desgin, Luba also teaches New Media Production and Design at SAIR Polytechnic in Calgary, Canada. She splits her time between Bath and Calgary and often communicates with her PhD supervisors via trans-Atlantic Skype tutorials.
Ellie Woodacre (PhD History) Ellie recently completed her PhD thesis on the Queens regnant of Navarre. Her research offered an examination of the political careers of these remarkable women, focusing on issues of female succession, strategies of diplomacy and marital alliances and the balance of power between the queens regnant and their kings consort. Whilst at Bath Spa Ellie co-organised the succesful conference 'Kings & Queens: Power, Personalities, Patronage and Politics in Medieval and Early Modern Monarchy' held at Corsham Court on April 19 & 20, 2012. The conference launched the Royal Studies Network, a web-based initiative designed to enable connections between scholars working on monarchal themes and topics. Please visit the website at www.royalstudiesnetwork.org to join the network or for more information.