Background

I studied for a BA in English and Medieval Studies and a PhD in Medieval English at the University of Exeter where I worked with Professor Michael Swanton. I gained a PGCE in Higher Education while teaching at University College Dublin, before joining the Department at Birmingham.

Teaching

I teach modules in Old English language and literature, Middle English literature, and the analysis of cultural/heritage issues, and also contribute to the Literature Foundation module and to modules for the MPhil(B) in Medieval Studies. I am programme coordinator and examinations officer for the interdisciplinary degree in Medieval English and History, for which I also assist with admissions. I convene the interdisciplinary Graduate Medievalists' Research Seminar and run a series of summer research workshops for postgraduate students of the Centre.

Research

My research is interdisciplinary in nature, and examines the relationships between text and image in medieval manuscripts, focusing in particular on medieval diagrams. I am interested in the various reading strategies required by differing forms of visual exposition, and the implications of such strategies for both the production and the use of manuscripts. Current work includes analysis of methods of reading (and re-reading) runes, the ideological functions of the diagrams in Byrhtferth's Enchiridion and other computistical works, and the devotional aspects of diagrams in biblical manuscripts. My other interests are centred on Old English literature, to which I brings a strongly theoretical approach; I have also worked on Middle English texts, in particular the various versions of Mandeville's Travels.

Research groups

I belong to the Medieval English Research Group in the Department of English. I am a board member of the Hilton Shepherd Postgraduate Centre for Medieval Studies, and co-organise the Hilton Shepherd Occasional Lecture Series with Dr Simon Yarrow.

Conferences

I organised a conference on 'Identity and Cultural Exchange 600-1600: Contact, Travel and Trade' at the University of Birmingham in 2002 and was involved in the organisation of `Manuscripts of the West Midlands' conference (Birmingham, April 2003) and the 3rd International Piers Plowman conference (Birmingham, July 2003).

Other activities

I am Director of Learning and Teaching for the School of Humanities and chair the School's Learning and Teaching Group. I have been involved in developing web-based learning materials for the study of medieval languages and literature for some years now and have written articles on the subject. I am also a member of the Committee of TOEBI (Teachers of Old English in Britain and Ireland) and editor of the biannual TOEBI Newsletter.

Postgraduate supervision

I currently supervise postgraduate students working in the areas of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and Old English literature.

I am happy to supervise Masters and PhD projects on:

• Text-image relationships in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts
• Old English prose of secular learning
• Text-image relationships in later medieval manuscripts of secular texts
• Old English poetry, especially that containing runes
• Applications of literary theory to Old English literature
• Medieval diagrams