Current and Recent Research Students

Dr Laura Jose

(email at laura.jose@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

My doctoral research considers madness and its relation to gender in medieval English literature. Madness, as a condition of otherness, is a locus for anxieties about identity, and particularly gendered identity. I am particularly interested in the ways in which masculinities are affected by madness, given that rationality is a fundamental to being a man in the Middle Ages. The texts I look at range from medical texts to romance, and include exempla, hagiography and autobiographical works such as Margery Kempe’s Book and Hoccleve’s Series. My broader research interests include all aspects of medieval genders and sexualities, with an emphasis on masculinities. My PhD is funded by the AHRC, and I also receive a university doctoral fellowship. My supervisor is Professor Corinne Saunders.