The Postgraduate Arts &

Humanities Centre (PAHC)

04

What is the purpose of the

Symposium
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Programme
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Abstracts of Papers
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Presenter Biographies
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 The The Postgraduate Arts and Humanities Centre as
a community of practice

PAHC is far more than a physical or administrative space

Postgraduate
for PhD students, it is a vision of a community of practice.
According to Lane and Wenger (2000) a community of
practice is constituted in a ‘group of people who share a
concern or a passion for something they do and learn how
to do it better as they interact regularly’. But a community

Arts &
of practice is not just a group of people that happen to have
a common interest. They are a group of practitioners:
active participants in the practices of social communities,
and in the construction of, in this case, a researcher’s
identity, through these communities.

Humanities Our vision then is of PAHC as a re-imagination of

postgraduate culture which transcends disciplinary
boundaries not just through the research culture already
evident in the faculty, but via PhDs where an inter-

Centre
disciplinary mindset is a natural port of call.

The traditional view of a PhD is of the lone scholar

burrowing away in their ivory tower. But why can’t a PhD
be more than that? Why can’t PAHC coalesce around a
PhD culture that is about utilising the communal passion
of postgraduate researchers? Why can’t we think more
broadly of the PhD as having potential benefit to the local,
regional, national and international communities with
which our faculty already engages so effectively?

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PAHC then is about seeing postgraduate research as being Being the Head of PAHC is, no doubt, the best job in the
the shining light of our faculty’s underpinning philosophy: a known the universe…! I get to work with highly motivated
philosophy that is in turn outward-facing and which has a researchers and with a PAHC team passionate about
renewed focus on the public and the professional and on helping those students through the ups and downs, whilst
actually making a difference to the worlds of work, culture reminding them that their unique experience of the PhD is
and society: of a community working within a community for one that many others are actually going through.
the common good.
Doing a PhD is a unique challenge. But we can all learn
Doing a PhD is not simply about the marathon challenge of from each other. PAHC is here to remind us all that this is
completing a perfectly rounded project. It’s a professional the case. Have a brilliant symposium!
training. At the centre of this lies PAHC’s Research Training
Programme which is designed to provide a comprehensive
range of training opportunities. But professional training is
about more than just attending training workshops, it’s about
understanding what it means to be part of a non-hierarchical
research culture. It’s about being a pro-active and collegiate
part of that research culture and PAHC aims to provide the
foundations upon which this becomes possible.

This is a process that you could usefully compare to the

completion of a PhD itself. What makes a good PhD is above
all a convincing narrative. A PhD doesn’t need to transform Steve Miles, Head of PAHC
the world; it just needs to present for examination a world
that the student, through their passion and determination,
has indisputably defined: a carefully sculpted world in which
there remains no doubt as to what the student has sought to
achieve, how and why.

PAHC is in the process of defining its own narrative and the

Annual PAHC symposium is at the very heart of that.
Organised by students for students the symposium
showcase’s the outstanding work that our PhD students are
engaged in. This year’s symposium is all about sharing and
learning from the challenges that all PhD students face and in
this sums up what PAHC and our 5 students are all about. 6
 The Annual Arts & Humanities Research Student
Symposium is an opportunity for research students across

What
the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, to meet and discuss their
research with other research students, and to receive
comment and feedback on their research from more
experienced researchers.

is the
The Symposium has been designed to be supportive, but
critical. The abstract submission and review process is
straightforward, and offers constructive feedback, and the
atmosphere at the Symposium is collegial and supportive,
whilst challenging all participants to improve and advance

purpose
their research.

of the
Symposium?
5th Annual Symposium, 2017
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Program
09:00 Registration Angeliki Andrikopoulou
Academic libraries and Research Data
Management
09:15 Welcome
Sarah Walker
Nikolai Duffy
Challenges for the Interdisciplinary Researcher
Deputy Head of PAHC

09:45 Panel 01 11:10 Refreshments

Chair, Craig Carey
Postgraduate Research Student 11:30 Panel 03
Chair, Nahla Raffaoui
Freya Ernsting Student Organising Committee
Getting to grip(e)s with Grounded
Theory Method: The constant comparison within
Dounia Ouided Hachelef
the research journey
The New Witch: A contemporary interpretation of
Nahla Raffaoui female power between reality and fiction
The Challenge of Using Intersectionality as a
Catherine Elkin
Research Methodology
'Mother was Making Angels': The Challenge of
Discussing Infanticide
10:45 Panel 02: Poster Presentations
Magdalena Marchowska-Raza
12:30 Lunch
My road to shaping the subject of my research
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13:30 Panel 04
Chair, Freya Ernsting
Student Organising Committee

Rodica Arpasanu
An emotional journey: the risk and changes
associated with undertaking sensitive research
on mortality mediation in dark tourism
Latifa Alharbi
Effects of Social Media Use in Teaching English:
An investigation of Instagram adoption in teaching
English as a second language

14:30 Panel 05
Chair, Halima Benzdira
Student Organising Committee

Antony Hall
Experiments in art and perceptual illusion:
Exploring methods used in experimental
psychology within a framework of artistic practice
Andrew Forster
Paths in the Wilderness: The Challenges of Nature
Poetry as Creative/Critical Research

15:30 Refreshments

16:00 Prizes and close of symposium

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 Getting to grip(e)s with Grounded Theory
Method: The constant comparison within
the research journey

Freya Ernsting
Languages, Information and Communications

As an early stage researcher, declaring the use of

Grounded Theory Method (GTM) is often met with a
surge of meticulous enquiries and controversial
perspectives. The use of GTM is, debatably unnecessarily,
renowned for being a challenging approach for qualitative
research, shrouded in scholarly tradition. Originally
formulated by sociologists Barney Glaser & Anselm
Strauss (1967), GTM aims to generate theory from
empirical data by an inductive approach, and evaluates
the relationships between concepts. The emphasis is to
generate a theory that is grounded within the data, and
free of researcher bias. The method features a distinct
systematic coding practice; dependant on the approach

Abstracts
selected, and requires data analysis to occur alongside
data collection to facilitate constant comparison with
newly collected data, only coming to a halt once no further
concepts emerge.

of Papers
This paper aims to challenge what GTM can mean to the
researcher, and why it is a worthwhile qualitative research
method, despite the accompanying challenges, and how to
navigate through the variety of myths and approaches
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before making a selection relevant to the project. Often
critiqued, GTM is accompanied by a wealth of
misconceptions, contributing to confusion and potentially
creating an apprehension between the researcher and
supervisory team, as discussed in this paper. The primary
myth maintains the researcher as a ‘blank slate’, to avoid any
influences upon the data collection and analysis, thus delaying
the bulk of literature review process to after the data
collection. In addition, other myths include the generation of
a despairingly detailed theory, and the production of inflexible
theories, rendering the cope of the research to be limited.
As a research student, selecting a method of which the
theorists themselves vastly disagreed on, and since being
remodelled numerous times, can prove to be an intimidating
task. The different approaches, including classic (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967), Straussian (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), and
constructivist (Charmaz, 2006), can complicate the research
design, subsequently requiring a history lesson to effectively
position the research project within the fitting approach.
Adding this aspect into the mix of tasks a research student is
simultaneously managing can be burdensome, an aspect
which often is not relevant when considering alternative
methods.
The practice of constant comparison is a key feature of data
collection and analysis within GTM. However, due to the
challenges of selecting an approach and the subsequent
defence of that choice, the constant comparison becomes a
feature of the research journey. As a result of these aspects, as
a research student, a degree of courage is required upon
coming forth as utilising GTM within a project, as those more
familiar with the approach can be critical of those less
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familiar. This can result in feelings of discouragement and
reluctance to discuss, or even adopt, the method. Combined
with elements of imposter syndrome, naturally characteristic
of research students, this paper further discusses how to
approach a daunting method, persisting with, and confidently
defending the adoption of GTM. In addition, this research
suggests how other researchers may face similar challenges
within their own methodological selections, and how to
effectively overcome them.
The Challenge of Using Intersectionality as a
Research Methodology
Nahla Raffaoui
Department of English
The questions of race and gender have always been the core
themes that have preoccupied the writings and the agendas of
Black feminists across different generations. Each generation
of Black feminists has interrogated these vectors of social
injustice differently in their texts and in their activism
However, the constant focus on the interconnectedness of the
paradigms of race and gender led to the necessity of
employing intersectionality within the field of Black feminism
to categorise both race and gender as interlocking
oppressions. Thus, my research is concerned with examining
the different negotiations of the intersections of race and
gender with the addition to diaspora in contemporary texts of
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Black feminist writers. The study includes post-2010 cross-
genre texts with a cross-border transatlantic dimension of a
range of Black feminist writers from different locations. These
texts comprise variations of fiction and non-fiction including
memoirs, manifestos, autobiographies, poetry, lyric,
journalistic writing, and novels of African American, Black
British, African, and Caribbean feminist writers. Despite the
focus on cross-genre, the study will refer to life writing as the
point of commonality between these texts in order to examine
the writers’ experiences and representations of these
intersections. It will also refer to the theorization of Black
feminism by the earlier generation of Black feminists to draw
the difference as well as the relevance of their model of
interrogating these intersections to contemporary Black
feminists.
The methodology employed in this study is a textual analysis
based on different theoretical texts of Black feminism and the
framework of intersectionality. This approach was presented
by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) in her ground-breaking article
‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex.’ For
Crenshaw, intersectionality refers to the way race and gender
interlock to create a fundamental oppression which forms
Black women’s experiences (1991). However, the focus of this
paper is to present an intersectional reading to illustrate how
intersectionality could be engaged with as a methodology
which some critics believe the framework fails to clearly
outline. Thus, in this presentation I will provide an
intersectional reading to the non-fiction feminist works by the
contemporary Nigerian feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie We Should All Be Feminists (2014) and Dear Ijeawele
A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestion (2018). These two
texts present Adichie’s rendering of Black feminism based on
her personal experiences; however, her approach and
arguments in these texts made her and her works highly
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debatable. In addition to studying these texts, the
presentation will also shed light on Adichie beyond the writer
and focuses on her public persona to examine her way of
globalising the image of the Black feminist in relation to race
and gender discourse. The purpose of this intersectional
analysis is to put under scrutiny Adichie’s approach towards
negotiating the intersections of race and gender through her
writing and public presence. In addition, applying the
intersectional praxis will help explore the extent to which
these two texts could be considered intersectional.
Yet, despite the popularity of intersectionality in different
fields such as feminism and critical race studies, there is a
consensus that the approach itself lacks a directly identified
methodology. According to Leslie McCall (2005), one of the
unintentional outcomes of intersectionality is the limitations
of the approaches that engage with intersectionality as a
research methodology. These limitations construct a challenge
of how to carry intersectional research to result in producing
the type of knowledge wanted. Thus, different critics and
scholars have attempted to draw a clear set of approaches that
could be compatible with the variation of intersectional
research. For example, McCall (2005) outlines three analytical
approaches based on categorisations, which are:
anticategorical complexity, intercategorical complexity, and
intracategorical complexity. The first approach refuses to
focus on social categories claiming to define social categories
as a complex endeavour (McCall, 2005). However,
intercategorical complexity approach works on the
relationship between the different social categories (McCall,
2005). The last approach, intracategorical complexity calls for
social categories to be studied critically as it locates
intersectional identities as subjects of analysis (McCall, 2005).
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The approach of intercategorical complexity might be more
relevant to such study as it employs Black women’s narrative
about these social categorizations to expose the experiences of
marginalized identities (Nash, 2008). Still, despite the
arguments that are directed against intersectionality as a
method, I argue in this paper for the lucidity of the approach
and the unlimited categorizations that define intersectionality.
McCall herself stresses that not all intersectional research can
fall under these three approaches (2005). Thus, I further
argue that it allows for space for researchers to develop their
approach that would be convenient for their study and the
wished results. By providing an intersectional reading to the
works of Adichie, this paper contends that despite the
complexity of the concept, the open-ended nature of the
approach makes it lucid. Finally, I consider my presentation a
learning opportunity for early researchers in the field of
intersectionality. By sharing my experience, researchers might
become aware that intersectional research like any research
comes along with challenges. However, the challenge in such
rich research field turns around the validity of
intersectionality as a methodology which this paper aimed at
discussing.
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My road to shaping the subject of my research
Magdalena Marchowska-Raza,
Languages, Information & Communications
Introduction
When I decided to pursue a PhD, I had a vision of what
research I would like to complete. The initial research
proposal I presented was an extension of my Master research
and was designed to investigate influence of social media on
consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. I was asked to
scale down the proposal as the lack of details caused it to be
too broad.
The next draft of my proposal was much more detailed. I have
chosen an industry of interest (cosmetics). I also have decided
to focus on communities on social media. The research was
designed to conduct a comparison study between consumer-
initiated brand communities on social media and brand-
initiated communities. I have distinguished two types of
engagement, namely cognitive and sociological, that I wanted
to closely examine. I planned to used Community of Practice
theory for the cognitive engagement and social influence
theory lens for sociological element.
Due to my lack of experience, I was unaware that my research
proposal was too complex for the time frame of a PhD course.
My DoS have drawn my attention to the fact that not only
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comparison study would require gathering immense amount
of data to be significant, there also might be difficulties
obtaining permissions from all community members as some
communities reached thousands of members.
After much thought I have decided to focus on brand-initiated
communities based on social media as the communities are
open spaces and therefore obtaining ethical clearance would
be much more straight forward. The elimination of consumer-
initiated brand communities also allows to limit the research
data needed to be collected.
The progress I have made since enrolling to the PhD
programme was possible through extensive literature research
as only when I examined closely the state of knowledge and
acquainted myself with the theoretical base I was able to
shape my research proposal to a manageable size. Invaluable
was also the help of my supervisors who offered guidance
when I felt overwhelmed by the volume of research and its
complexity.
Materials and methods
Scoping the literature to:
 Established state of knowledge
 Identify the knowledge gaps
 Substantiate area for my research
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 Crystallise methodology
Repeated conversations with my supervisors that:
 Guided me in the direction of further exploration
 Gave me feedback about the drawn ideas for research
 Pointed areas of possible interests for exploration
Results
Scoping literature allowed me to identify theories I would like
to apply in my research. Through my literature search, I was
able to secure key research papers for my study and identify
gaps in research. I was able to establish research methods
most suitable for my research. All the progress mentioned
above allowed me to shape the research proposal that is
manageable and achievable within the given timeframe.
Throughout my initial journey, I received tremendous support
and guidance from my supervisors without whom swift
progress would not be possible. The work resulted in a clear
plan that allowed me to move forward with my research. I was
also able to create an RD1 titled:
Engagement in cosmetics’ social media brand communities:
benefits and influences.
My research will look into customer engagement on cosmetic
social media brand communities through the community of
practice theory and social influence theory. Though my
research I would like to discover whether the engagement
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displayed by communities’ members is driven by cognitive or
emotional (feeling of belonging to a group) need. I also would
like my research to determine how the engagement translate
into action and whether actions differ when activated by
different need (cognitive or emotional).
I am planning to collect data through in-depth interviews and
netnographic observation of selected social media brand
communities. As mentioned above, I am interested in
cosmetics sector as I believe purchases are based on emotions
and opinions of others, therefore such constructs as
communities are vital for members to make purchasing
decisions. The selection of a community will be based on the
members’ activity; strands of conversations that will be
characterised by most engagement will be picked for analysis.
Next steps
In the following months I plan to:
 Conclude literature research
 Apply for ethical approval through EthOS system
 Conduct a pilot study
 Prepare for RD 2 and annual review
In consequence, I learned to:
 To listen to advice given by supervisors
 Do not be afraid to modify research
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 Keep the aim of planned research at the back of the head
 Filter all new data gathered by literature research
through the planned research
Academic libraries and Research Data
Management
Angeliki Andrikopoulou
Languages, Information and Communications
Aim
This study aims to contribute to theory, knowledge and
practice regarding the role of academic libraries in Research
Data Management (RDM). The central research question of
this research is: To what extent does the involvement of
university libraries in RDM contribute to: embedding them in
the research process; and, re-shaping notions of the identity
of the university library?
Objectives
The objectives of the study are:
 To review previous research on the future of academic
libraries and to review the previous research on research
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 data management practice in universities, in general,
and academic libraries, more specifically.
 To develop an understanding of the policy and
contextual considerations associated with RDM
including collaboration and competition areas.
 To develop a deep and nuanced understanding of the
role and contribution of librarians as research data
managers, which will form the basis for the development
of a conceptual model of the successes and challenges
associated with RDM.
 To identify the skills required and expected of librarians
working as research data managers, to propose a
conceptual model.
Background
Research Data Management is considered as the governance
of data through the entire research lifecycle, in order these
data to become shareable and reusable (Whyte & Tedds,
2011). Academic institutions and research funding
organizations advocate that the quality of data management is
an important requirement to maintain scientific progress
(Verbaan & Cox, 2014). The increasing interest on Research
Data generated by the Universities, has emerged great
discourse among Library and Information Science (LIS)
specialists (Cox, 2017) about the role of the academic library.
The topic is considered as extremely complex, multifaceted
and source of uncertainty (Verbaan & Cox, 2014; Brochu and
Burns, 2018).
Brochu and Burns (2018) claim that librarians play a key role
in RDM as educators and supporters. That is considered as an
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important contribution given the fact that researchers, the
actual producers of scientific knowledge, has been proved that
are not engaged or familiar with the notions of Research Data
Management (RDM) and Research Data Management Plans
(RDP) (Chowdhury et al., 2017). However, RDM agenda
involves many stakeholders such as IT services departments,
research support services and researchers and academics
themselves thus, does not come out as library's exclusive
matter (Cox et al., 2017). This fact directly places the library in
a chain of continuing and interacting collaboration and
competition.
Recently, networks of collaboration through the RDM agenda
have been identified by Van Strien & Fellous-
Sigrist (2017). Additionally, Cox and Verbaan (2014) have
exposed the nexus of competition between the librarians and
other professionals, mostly IT specialists, under the point of
view of professional jurisdiction. Certainly, library plays
significant role in the new evolving area associated with the
data lifecycle (Branin, 2009). Similarly, librarian’s skillset
regarding RDM has emerged discussions about reskilling and
the adoption of new roles such as “data librarians” (Cox et al,
2017).
Given that the reality of RDM in academic libraries is in
constant change, in a manner that is described by Cox et al. as
“maturity” (2017), it is important for the current research to
conduct an in-depth analysis of the factors that involve
collaboration and competition in the RDM activities.
Furthermore, the librarians’ point of view is important to be
recorded regarding the above topics and the skills needed to
address the challenges of the RDM.
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Methodology
The study will commence with a preliminary scoping stage,
the aim of which will be to develop an understanding of the
policy and contextual considerations associated with
RDM. The main stage of this research will focus on the
perceptions of three groups of key stakeholders in the RDM
process: senior academic library managers, librarians with
specific responsibility for RDM, and academic researchers
with experience of depositing their research
data. The research will adopt a case study-based approach,
focussing on the RDM practices in five UK Russell Group
university libraries. Case study university libraries will be
selected based on their research ranking, research funding
profile, experience with RDM, and the level of contribution of
the university library to RDM processes. Primary data will be
gathered through semi-structured interviews with key
stakeholders.
Ethics
The research will consider ethical issues arising from the
adopted methodology. The researcher will maintain
confidentiality of data and will not reveal the identity of any
participant, ensures that the data is accurate and up to date,
and holds all data safely, using physical and digital security
measures.
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Challenges for the Interdisciplinary
Researcher
Sarah Walker
Department of Design
This poster paper aims to provide some insight in navigating
an interdisciplinary approach and discusses my own journey
of adapting different disciplines for a PhD. Increasingly
sought after within academia, multidisciplinarity provides a
platform for different expertise to come together to develop
impactful research by asking bigger and different questions
that go beyond each separate discipline (Lach, 2014).
However, it poses a methodological challenge where
numerous potentialities emerge and a sense of direction can
be blurred. Likewise, stretching yourself across disciplines
and crossing new boundaries between discourses does not
necessarily equate to a clear trajectory into employment as
individual projects might not delve equally into each distinct
discipline.
My current research is guided by the hypothesis that creative
participatory practices can not only encourage communities to
take care of their local greenspace but also influence policy
within Manchester and Leeds. One of my main challenges is
that I am not only weaving and mixing discourses in Design,
Landscape Architecture and Geography, I am also proposing
quick adaption to negotiate with, be with and be response-
able for all stakeholders. The principle aim of this project is to
uncover opportunities for stakeholders to feel some sense of
stewardship in their local environment and identify the
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potentiality of creativity in urban greenspace. When
considering stewardship of nature and stakeholders, I am
interested in examining those ‘beings’ that do not explicitly
ask permission to change their surroundings; this study
contends that it is the role of designers and planners to
facilitate and encourage this notion. The challenge here is
building and developing communication between academia
and society.
In my project, I focus on urban greenspaces in Manchester
and Leeds. These spaces provide numerous benefits to well-
being and the environment (Kabisch and Haase, 2014).
However, despite the overwhelming benefits, they remain
under constant threat from lack of funding and available land
often being sacrificed to supply the increased demand for new
housing developments (Shams and Barker, 2019). One way to
mitigate these challenges is to use design thinking as a
mechanism to drive environmental sustainability and human
well-being within urban greenspace (Wolch, Byrne and
Newell, 2014). Although there may be confusion over
ownership of land in certain spaces, greenspaces can and do
belong to the public therefore, they can be a place for equal
ownership. Collaborating with individuals and communities
who live and work near urban greenspaces as well as members
of local authority and institutions, this project applies
recursive design practices to ensure a continuous feedback
loop informing the overall outcome (Leavy, 2017). Utilising co
-design with my stakeholders will help find opportunities for
behaviour change that favour the reconnection to nature or
the natural environment. This project looks to understand
place and its planning which will ultimately inform a
compelling and resonant outcome for community building
that helps support all living things. Community building is
something that is difficult to facilitate and there is no formula
to guarantee the success of a project. Although you can
29
provide most of the necessary facilities, for a sense of
community to flourish, it must develop naturally through
proactive individuals (Barton, Grant and Guise, 2010).
If the designer’s job is to understand and predict behaviours
(Chick and Micklethwaite, 2011), when considering urban
greenspace it is also important for future projects to take on
board multiple perspectives (CABE/DETR, 2000). This
ultimately suggests that designers should provide a holistic
and interdisciplinary approach to every project. Haraway
(2016) puts forward a new epoch named the Chthulucene as
an all-encompassing and on-going notion of living with,
working with and dying with each other as both human and
non-human counterparts. Throughout, she discusses that
deeper bonds to all living ‘critters’ are essential to nourish the
planet and live within a sustainable world. We must learn
from what is dying and what is living as well as understand
how to protect the visible and acknowledge the invisible
(Haraway, 2016). Despite this being a hefty and time-
consuming challenge, as a designer, I will adopt this mode of
thinking to bridge together my chosen disciplines.
Ultimately, the core responsibility of the interdisciplinary
researcher is to delve into intersecting epistemologies in order
to make innovative connections between the dots. Adopting
this approach involves not only patience and tolerance for
unfamiliarity but remaining open to multiple perspectives and
pathways (Lach, 2014). For those unafraid of the unknown
(and perhaps overly ambitious), an interdisciplinary approach
is a worthy challenge.
30
The New Witch: A contemporary
interpretation of female power between
reality and fiction
Dounia Ouided Hachelef
Department of English
The witch as a myth or an archetype has changed her shape
from one decade to another according to social change. From
an early feminist point of view, the witch has been formed and
reformed time and again. She has been a demonic
figure (Pavlac, 2001); she has been a healer, a midwife and a
wise-woman who was persecuted and burned because of
men’s supremacy (Hodgkin, 1998); she was also seen
as a temptress and a sinful woman who suffered
from ‘phallogocentric hegemonies’ (Sempruch, 2008).
In the 21st century, American popular
culture significantly influenced the reshaping of the figure of
the witch from mythology and historical interpretations
to contemporary complex figuration in film and
television. Scholars have narrowed these extensive views
about the figure of the witch to define her as a straightforward
feminist icon. However, minimal consideration has
been provided to the kind of relationship such portrayals
might have with the issue of female power. Recently, the
contemporary representation of the witch suggests an
alternative perspective of ambivalence that is key to
redefining the iconography of the witch.
31
The changing feminist perspectives on the figure of the witch
invite us to establish a more careful view on the current
representation of this figure, and thus a deeper analysis on
how the iconography of the witch is portrayed in fictional and
realistic contexts. In Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the
Sex Positive Kristen J. Sollée explains the contemporary
proliferation of the figure of the witch as an attempt to
revive “bad” female archetypes. Sollée also implores women to
consider these archetypes as a feminist guide and a gateway
towards female liberation (Sollée, 2017). Pam Grossman
challenges traditional dichotomies of
patriarchal American philosophy and describes it as the
persistence of male misogynistic views on non-conformist
women (Grossman, 2017). It has been suggested that the
monstrous potential of the witch is perceived as equivalent to
the powerful potential of feminists. The witch according to
Creed is among the most used monstrous female figures in
Horror films (Creed 1993). In that context, when women
embrace their inner power, they indirectly awaken female evil
potential and unleash the uncanny version of themselves that
it may be liberating for women but most importantly
obstructing for society.
Redefining the contemporary iconography of the witch plays a
revealing role in the shaping of her identity, which reflects the
relationship between the female witch and the changing
circumstances of the modern society. Feminist theory was and
still is the theoretical position that produces nuanced
interpretations of the witch character; however, this theory of
criticism has been exhausted, which makes it particularly
challenging to introduce new feminist models.
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Using a critical feminist approach to study the American
21st popular culture fantasy fiction portrayals of the witch
figure, my research will investigate the resurgence of the
“bad” witch figure, and will establish an interconnection
between the cosmeticized witch in American fantasy and
the American cultural theories about powerful women in the
mainstream. This research will create a conversation between
cultural and fictional representations of the witch in
contemporary America, to problematize the reclamation of
the witch in works such as Maleficent (2014), A Discovery of
Witches (2017), and The Chilling Adventures of
Sabrina (2018). This paper will demonstrate how the
character of the witch can be synonymous to female power
and female liberation through her contemporary symbolism
in popular culture, fiction, and film.

Women such as Hillary Clinton who strive for power are still
typecast as witches; this representation urges us to
conceptualize female power through the diverse agendas of
the character of the witch. By exploring American popular
culture fiction, I will be developing an alternative
interpretation of female power in order to determine whether
the contemporary American perception on female power is
relevant to both the image of the witch
in contemporary fiction, and the image of the new woman in
the US.

Figure1: A tweet that compared Hillary Clinton to the Wicked Witch of

the West.

33 34
'Mother was Making Angels': The Challenge
of Discussing Infanticide
Catherine Elkin
Department of English
The study and communication of baby farming poses a
number of challenges, both to the researcher and those to
which they present their work. I will demonstrate these
challenges in my presentation, exploring practical and
personal means to combat such adverse effects. Baby farming
was an informal means of adoption, in which (usually) a
woman reared the children of others, in exchange for
payment. A small number of those in this trade, however,
deliberately caused the deaths of infants in their care in order
to maximise their profits (Behlmer, 1982). The material that
evidences this can be of an upsetting nature, whether in the
form of pictures, etchings or graphic description. Historians
often acknowledge the difficulty of discussing topics such as
infanticide (Hendrick, 1994). One challenge is to tread the
delicate line between conveying an accurate portrayal of
events and avoiding graphic content capable of disturbing an
audience. There is a real danger of causing emotional harm
when discussing the more gruesome aspects of baby farming
and this must be recognised and acknowledged during the
presentation of this research to others. However, due to the
individualistic emotional context of each person, choosing
what content to include can be quite a difficult thing to guage.
Prolonged study of baby farming can also lead to an ever-
growing emotional burden. Over-exposure to this and, indeed,
35
other material involving infanticide can lead researchers to
become desensitised, which can negatively affect
communication of their work. This aspect in particular,
reveals the far-reaching consequences which can occur should
a person’s own emotional needs be neglected. Shocking
material can also have a far more serious effect on those that
choose their specialism within it, and must wade through
graphic photographs, etchings and vivid descriptions of
cruelty. This effect is amplified in the case of field work
undertaken for research in these areas, working with
vulnerable people, discussing difficult, and often extremely
personal, topics (Janet et al., 2010).
Research undertaken in higher education is often all-
encompassing and when the pressures of academia are
combined with the stress of an emotive topic, the effect on the
researcher is seldom likely to be positive. Hence, long-term
exposure to such methods and material can cause states of
depression and anxiety, which, if left unchecked can develop
into chronic illnesses, seriously affecting mental and physical
health (Tips for Coping with Depression, 2018). It has been
pointed out by those feeling the effects of their work that as of
yet, there are no measures in our procedures of ethical
approval to help with this challenge for researchers
(Arpasanu, 2019.). I will address these issues in my
presentation, suggesting methods based on empathy and
collaboration to ensure the appropriate presentation of
difficult topics. Additionally, I will suggest coping
mechanisms and avenues of support to help prevent a
temporary negative emotional state from becoming a long-
term problem. These issues are frequent and serious and
therefore deserve further discussion and it is my aim to do
justice to them in my presentation. With this, I hope to open a
constructive and supportive dialogue between researchers, to
36
find ways we can ease the continually mounting pressure for
ourselves, and each other.
An emotional journey: the risk and changes
associated with undertaking sensitive
research on mortality mediation in dark
tourism
Rodica Arpasanu,
School of Science and the Environment
The postgraduate research journey has been
commonly centred on making a novel contribution to
knowledge and positioning the researcher within a particular
field of research. However, in recent years, there has been an
upsurge in awareness that performing researcher is an
embodied experience with transformative and affective
qualities (Dickson-Swift et al., 2007, 2008, 2009). This
experience can be particularly intense for those researchers
undertaking projects, which explore topics of a sensitive
nature (Gibson, 1996; Quinlan and Quinlan, 2010).
More so, when data generating processes and strategies
encompass (qualitative) methods that
i n v o l v e d i r e c t e nc o u n t e r s a n d
conversations with distressing and potentially damaging
consequences, for both participants and the
researcher (Cowles, 1988; Stanley and Wise,
1988). Nevertheless, defining sensitive research
37
is problematic, open to ongoing debates
and numerous interpretations.
Sieber and Stanley (1988:49) define sensitive research as an
inquiry, which elicits emotion-laden responses, generates
risks and can result in a wide range of social implications “for
participants in the research of for the class of individuals
represented by the research”. However, sensitive research
topics have been used variably to define a range of issues,
methods and settings across a varied number of
disciplines. Thus, sensitive topics can include inquiries on
mental health (Mitchell and Irvine, 2008), life-threatening
illnesses (Rodriquez, 2018), deviant behaviour, difficult
heritage (Tucker, 2009), death and bereavement
(Goodrum and Keys, 2007). The sensitive nature of a research
topic is also context depended. As such, Lee
and Renzetti (1990, 1993) recommend researchers to develop
ethical protocols and methodological precautions aligned to
the context in which each research process unfolds (e.g.
fieldwork, transcription, analysis,
dissemination). Although this viewpoint might present a
more inclusive approach to understanding sensitive
research, as Johnson and Clarke (2003) highlight, all
these definitions tend to share a common limitation. That is,
the overemphasis on the potential impact of sensitive research
on participants and an overall omission of the risk and
consequences incurred by researchers, which remain largely
unacknowledged or confined to issues of methodological rigor
and fieldwork access (Doloriert and Sambrook,
2009). However, as Zurbriggen (2002) and Schmied et al.
(2011) point out, carrying out sensitive research can pose
emotional, psychological and even physical distress for
researchers (more so if they are inexperienced) (Dunkely and
Whelan, 2006).
38
This paper draws on the available literature to discuss some of
the challenges involved in undertaking research exploring the
concept of mortality mediation – a potentially
sensitive research topic, examined in the context of dark
tourism (Stone, 2012). Dark tourism can be generally defined
as the visitation of sites of and associated with death, natural
or man-made disasters and human tragedy (Lennon and
Foley, 2000). The author will also reflect on the personal
dilemmas and the difficulties encountered during the early
stages of the research and the data collection processes. The
fieldwork involved interviewing research participants about
their visits at a former notorious Greek prison (Heptapyrgion
Fortress) and a Romanian graveyard (Merry Cemetery). Both
sites have been identified as being dark touristic attractions,
where visitors can have a symbolic encounter with
mortality (Stone at al., 2018).
Following the definitions of sensitive research provided
by Sieber and Stanley (1988) and Lee and Renzetti (1990,
1993), the present study can be considered as being of a
sensitive nature. Firstly, because as Moscardo and Ballantynes
(2008: 247) remark, nowhere else are strong emotional
responses “more clearly present than in…dark tourism
places”. Secondly, because this study asks participants to
converse and reflect on their encounters with symbolic
mortality in dark tourism places. This also
involves participants talking about their deeply intimate and
potentially painful personal lived experiences of loss and
bereavement (Walter, 2009; Buda 2015). Although there are
several studies, which indicated that visit to ‘dark’ touristic
sites can evoke a range of emotional responses from curiosity
and horror, to empathy and sadness, anger and anxiety (Buda
et al., 2014, Light, 2017); there are considerably less or no
studies exploring the emotional implications of scholars
undertaking dark tourism research.
39
The results of this study are overall consistent with the
existing literature and research from various disciplines,
which highlight the challenges and difficulties experienced by
(novice) researchers carrying out (qualitative) investigation
on sensitive topics in various disciplines (Wettergren et al.,
2016). Although dark tourism is a relatively novel area of
research, academic structures and practitioners need to move
beyond the controversies surrounding dark tourism
research (Stone, 2012). Instead, there should be a
concentrated effort to develop structural frameworks and
research protocols, which will help identify and mitigate
potential risk and challenges associated with performing and
taking part in studies investigating death, disaster and
difficult heritage (Rager, 2005a, 2005b). These developments
hold a particular significance for novice and unexperienced
researchers undertaking sensitive research. This study aims to
contribute to the broader academic discussion about sensitive
research in the context of dark tourism, by raising the
awareness needed to advance ethical and methodological
precautions early in the research process. This paper
will suggest potential strategies, which could help novice PhD
researchers recognize and manage personal challenges when
undertaking sensitive research.
40
Effects of Social Media Use in Teaching
English: An investigation of Instagram
adoption in teaching English as a second
language
to cover the theories necessary, both in communication and
learning theories, to be able to develop a new/modified
communication model that is fit for teaching English as a
foreign language using Instagram.

Berlo’s SMCR model:

Latifah Alharbi
Languages, Information and Communications
Berlo’s SMCR model of communication contains four main
elements: Source (S), Message (M), Channel (C) and Receiver
With the recent proliferation of communication technologies (R) (Berlo, 1960). Each contains sub-elements necessary to
allowing instant global communication for many, using these satisfy a communication link (Narula, 2006, p.31). This model
tools for learning has become more popular (Laestadius, is not exclusive to one communication medium. Figure 1
2018). This raises the question, how effective is teaching via below shows an overview of the communication model
Social Media? This research will investigate this matter, devised by Berlo. It is worth mentioning that other
specifically addressing teachers using Instagram to teach researchers have adapted the model to suit their individual
English as a second language. It involves interviewing active needs, this could be by adding extra elements or sub-elements
teachers to gain an insight into their experiences with to the model, or otherwise, picking the suitable sub-elements
Instagram as a communication and teaching tool. The from each main element and neglecting the rest (Croft,
research encourages teachers to keep up to date with 2004).
advancing communication and teaching tools and exploit
them to enhance creativity and the overall teaching
experience. This research will bridge the gap in knowledge
regarding the value and use of Instagram for teaching English
as a second language, and as an effective communication tool.
It seeks to assess Instagram’s effectiveness by determining its
communication characteristics. Teachers who teach English
using Instagram will be interviewed in-depth, with pre-tested
questions to identify how Instagram can be used effectively,
barriers to and motives for using it in teaching.

The aim is to study Instagram in teaching English as a foreign

language, and therefore, it is appropriate that the research has Figure 1: Berlo’s SMCR

41 42
 Figure 2 shows my attempted proposal of a communication
model, adapted from Berlo’s communication model. It
involves a crucial element, presented in Instagram’s way of
communication, which is ‘Feedback’ (Hargie, 2006, p.26-
28) and it helps to create a looped model or a two-
way communication scheme instead of Berlo’s one-
way communication process, having feedback as an element
will help to assess the effectiveness in
communication (Narula, 2006, p. 31). The figure below
represents communication process with Instagram as a
channel and the new essential elements and sub-
elements added. Moreover, there are some components added
which are influencing the information flow and

Figure 2: The proposed communication model.

handling, such as barriers and noise, which are factors that
effect the quality of the information. Hence, these are not
elements but rather components that take action in the
transition between the elements.

The questions arising from the above model are:

1. What source factors or characteristics are significant to

the effectiveness of the communication?
2. Are there any potential problems or barriers when
teaching English using Instagram or sending a message?
How should we deal with them?
3. What characteristics of the message or the channel
would contribute to effectiveness of communication?
4. What is the relationship between message content and
channel of communication?
5. Where might noise appear in communication? How can
we reduce it?

43 44
6. What factors are significant in Instagram as a
communication medium?
7. What elements combine to create effective Instagram
communication in teaching?
The results will highlight good practices in teaching and
communication using Instagram
Experiments in art and perceptual illusion:
Exploring methods used in experimental
psychology within a framework of artistic
practice
Antony Hall
Department of Media
This practice-based artistic research builds on methods used
in experimental psychology. Exploring the phenomenology of
multisensory perceptual illusion and exploiting the creative
possibilities that these mechanisms of experience afford
within the context of artistic practice. Innovative multimedia
experiments are designed using digital and analogue
technologies, to manipulate multisensory stimuli, and induce
illusory experiences. Experiments test if it is possible to
embody entirely unfeasible objects, the experience of sensory
deprivation and simulated out of body experiences.
45
A key challenge within this research has been exploring the
subjective experiences of participants and recording their
perceptual illusory experiences. The results so far suggest, not
all participants are able to experience these kinds of illusions,
and if experienced, they can be difficult for participants to
articulate. How can participants be made to feel more
comfortable in speaking about these sensations openly? Is it
possible through practice and preparation, to become more
aware, and therefore more effectively articulate these unusual
sensations?
In light of this, a hybridised methodology is developing,
combining elements from Artistic Research and Interpretative
Phenomenological Analysis [IPA] (Smith and Osborn, 2015).
IPA is an investigative method commonly used in
experimental psychology, offering the researcher insight into
the participants subjective experiences (Smith and Osborn,
2015). These will be used in combination to devise a form of
Arts-Informed IPA (Sadkowska, 2016). Additionally,
Somaesthetics (Shusterman, 2013) provides a critical and
philosophical framework for this project, which encompassing
bodily practice and training as a means to enhance bodily
experience. Recent studies have employed a somaesthetic
approach in the context of product design and human-
computer interaction (Höök et al., 2015) (Lee, Lim and
Shusterman, 2014) (Schiphorst, 2009). The ideas emerging
from this research are informed by and embody this
approach.
To date, over 300 people have participated in family
orientated workshops, while over 30 experiments were
conducted one-to-one. Experiments allowed participants to
play with illusory experiences and develop their own versions,
46
using clay, VR goggles, and drawing. The first phase revolved
around a perceptual experiment known as the 'Rubber Hand
Illusion' [RHI] (Rohde, Di Luca and Ernst, 2018) which is
widely used in experimental psychology to explore ideas
around body dysmorphia and body ownership. A new
experiment was devised for this research; the 'Clay Hand
Illusion'. This expanded model asks participants to make
objects, and explore for themselves the possibilities of
embodying entirely self-made unfeasible objects.
Building on the results of this initial research, several new
experiential artworks have emerged which incorporate a
sequence of questions and non-verbal assessments,
combining perceptual activities, and mindful reflection on
anomalous sensory experiences. 'Autoscope' (Hall, 2019) is
both performance and experiment developed for phase two of
this research. A back-mounted armature mounts a camera
behind the user at a distance of 2m, feeding live video to VR
goggles, giving an experience of self-seeing. A real-time 3rd
person experience or out of body experience. The device uses
the same model as the RHI, combining multisensory elements
to generate the illusion (Ehrsson, 2008) this model is now
being used to test the wider implications of self-seeing (Osimo
et al., 2015) and body swapping both from artistic and
scientific perspectives (http://beanotherlab.org/, 2018).
Autoscope builds on these studies, taking it beyond the
laboratory and allowing the user to navigate and interact with
the real world. Autoscope can be seen as both artwork and
experiential tool within the framework of this research.
It is proposed that in using this hybridised methodology,
these experiments [workshops and experiential artworks] can
be thought of as a toolkit for phenomenological investigation,
47
and "the study of perceptual consciousness" (Noë, 2000 p11)
opening a space for reflexive experience to unfold,
heightening self-awareness, creating richer more embodied
experiences. If this proves to be true, it may potentially
generate richer, more useful data for artistic and scientific
research, giving a deeper understanding of the nature of
subjective experience and consciousness itself.
Paths in the Wilderness: The Challenges of
Nature Poetry as Creative/Critical Research
Andrew Forster
Department of English
For the last three years I have been engaged with a ‘practice-
led’ PhD on Poetry and Environmentalism. This presentation
will explore the process, and some of the challenges, of a PhD
that blends critical and creative elements. Though practice-led
is the current term for this, my preference is for ‘creative-
critical’, because the two aspects are inextricably linked and
influence each other. The presentation will include readings of
poems from the thesis.
As a poet, my interest in this area began with my second and
third books, Territory and Homecoming, which were both
concerned with the process of making homes in new places,
through poems mapping the landscape, history and natural
48
history of each place. While working on these, I became aware
of the rise in ecopoetry and ‘new nature writing’. Jonathan
Bate’s The Song of the Earth, published in 2000, became the
focal point for poetry addressing the ecological crisis, calling
for a poetry of dwelling, that attunes readers to the
and romanticised. They question the relevance of poetry that
focuses on individual experience and responsibility ‘in a world
where the most serious environmental challenges are dealt
with by international and global institutions.’

Garrard and Lidström do not recognise that it is possible for a

environment, thereby making them better able to care for it.
Bate’s book had considerable influence on British lyric nature
poets such as Kathleen Jamie. I gained a critical context for
my poetry in Bate’s concept of dwelling, but as my awareness
of the environmental crisis developed I felt the limitations of
this approach, and wanted to explore the idea of a more
politically activist nature poetry.
Recent ecocritics such as Timothy Morton, Timothy Clark and
Matthew Griffiths shared my sense of the limitations of much
of the work I was reading. For them, nature poetry within the
British lyric tradition is restricted by locality and
characterised by ‘ecomimesis’, or sensory engagement which
fails to show the complexity of the environmental crisis. Their
solution, however, was in a more allusive and complex form of
poetry, more aligned to modernism.
poem to both ecophenomenological and environmental at the
same time. They ignore longstanding differences between
traditions of nature poetry in Britain and North America,
where poets such as Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder and Mary
Oliver, among others, have a long history of directly activist
place-based environmental poetry, based on individual
experience, that makes connections to the wider geopolitical
situation. The challenge I set myself was to draw on the work
of these poets to write ecologically-aware nature poetry, in the
British lyric tradition, that was both ecophenomenological
environmental.

Susanna Lidström and Greg Garrard, try to clarify these

differing positions. They distinguish between
‘ecophenomenological’ and ‘environmental poetry.’
Ecophenomological poetry is rooted in an individual response
to the environment, while environmental poetry explores the
wider geopolitical context of the environmental crisis.
Lidström and Garrard are critical of poetry they consider to be
ecophenomenological. From their perspective, the ‘natural
world’ that such poetry aims to connect to is ‘generally idyllic’

49 50
 Freya Ernsting
Languages, Information & Communications

Freya Ernsting is a current doctoral student at Manchester

Metropolitan University, investigating the identity
formulation of smartphone users amongst young adults.
In particular, taking a grounded theory approach, she is
exploring the embodiment and interactions between the
user and device, and how these are experienced and
perceived. In addition, she is interested in the broader
relationship between technological development and
society. Freya graduated from The University of Sheffield
in 2013 after completing a Master of Arts in Japanese
Studies, and from Manchester Metropolitan University in
2011 with a BA (Hons) in Film and Media Studies.

Nahla Raffaoui
Department of English

Presenter
Nahla Raffaoui is a full-time second -year Ph.D. student in
the school of English in the Faculty of Arts and
Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is
doing a fully funded research under the title of reading the
intersectionality of race, gender, and diaspora in

Biographies
contemporary Black feminist writing. Her thesis includes
an intersectional study of transnational Black feminist
texts across multi- genres, such as autobiographies,
essays, memoirs, novels, and feminist manifestos.

51 52
Magdalena Marchowska-Raza
Languages, Information & Communications
I am a first year PhD student in the Information and
Communications department at Manchester Metropolitan
University. My research focuses on customer engagement in
cosmetics brand communities based on social media. My
interest in social media started during my Bachelor course
that I completed with a dissertation focusing on the
blogosphere and social media. My Master's dissertation
concentrated on social media and its influence on consumer
behaviour. Both of my degrees, Bachelor and Master, are of
marketing background, with Bachelor majoring in Advertising
and Marketing and Master majoring in Social Communication
and Marketing.
Angeliki Andrikopoulou
Languages, Information & Communications
Angeliki is a first-year PhD student at Manchester
Metropolitan University (Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
School of Information, Communication and Languages), and
holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in
librarianship (BA Hons, Athens & MA, Sheffield). She has
worked for many years as a professional librarian in various
positions in academic and public libraries in Greece, and her
research interests focus on the contemporary role of the
academic library. Currently, she conducts doctoral research,
which aims to explore how Research Data Management
(RDM) can affect the identity of the academic library and the
position of the academic librarian.
53
Sarah Walker
Department of Design
Trained as a designer and artist, Sarah studied at Manchester
Metropolitan University and later the University of Leeds with
an interest in sustainable design and public engagement. She
has worked on several projects that have included
collaborations with Leeds City Council to improve community
engagement through co-design, a design renovation project in
Almeria, Spain and an artist residency in Mexico City.
Currently, Sarah is researching how creative participatory
practices can foster sustainable action to protect and enhance
greenspaces within urban environments in Manchester and
Leeds in partnership with the Woodland Trust.
Dounia Ouided Hachelef
Department of English
Miss Dounia Ouided Hachelef is an Algerian Ph.D candidate,
at Manchester Metropolitan University, Art and Humanities
Faculty. Dounia has received her BA in Language, Literature
and Anglo-Saxon Civilisation in 2014, and her Masters in
Anglo-American studies in 2016, from Mohamed Lamine
Debaghine Sètif University in Algeria. She has previously
written a dissertation about fantasy film adaptations taking
the Lord of the Rings as a study case. Her research interests
include the postfeminist representations of women in the
fantasy genre; Dounia is currently completing a PhD project
on contemporary American representations of the witch figure
in American Popular Culture.
54
Catherine Elkin
Department of English
Catherine Elkin is a first-year PhD student at Manchester
Metropolitan University, researching representations of baby
farming (and other informal methods of adoption) throughout
the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This was also
the subject of her MA dissertation, which she completed at the
University of Chester, before it was realised that the topic was
deserving of a much bigger project. Catherine is a strong
believer in the benefits of interdisciplinary work, and is
currently exploring the advantages that the digital humanities
could bring to her project.
Rodica Arpasanu
School of Science and the Environment
Rodica is a 3rd year PhD student in Human Geography at the
Manchester Metropolitan University. Her PhD explores
cultural variations of contemporary expressions and
encounters with mortality in the context of death tourism.
Specifically, her research investigates if and how modern
individuals engage with and reflect upon the idea of death
(their own or others) while visiting sites of and associated
with death, disaster and human tragedy. She earned her MA
in Applied Cultural Analysis from Lund University in Sweden
and BSc(Hons) in International Business Management from
Cardiff University.
55
Latifah Alharbi
Languages, Information & Communications
A second year PhD student in Manchester Metropolitan
University. Researching on ways to improve teaching using
new technologies, specifically, teaching English as a second
language using social media platforms. I am looking deeply in
utilising Instagram to achieve that goal, to see whether it is a
good candidate, and if so how to effectively incorporate it. I
earned my Masters degree in 2015 in information
management at Leeds Beckett University. My masters
dissertation was also on using Instagram in education.
Antony Hall
Department of Media
Antony Hall is an interdisciplinary artist and amateur
scientist, working through experiments and workshops, across
media and materials. Taking behavioural systems as a starting
point, control structures, devices and instruments, are
developed, within which these unique behavioural
phenomena can exist. Perpetuating their existence for
extended observation, study and experience. For example;
Harnessing the signals from electro-genic fish, and
interconnecting these with human physiology, or using a laser
to record movement and sound from microscopic pond
creatures in a drop of pond water. He is a founding member of
Owl Project who work with wood and electronics to fuse
sculpture and sound art and craft.
56
Andrew Forster
Department of English

Andrew Forster has published three collections of poetry:

‘Fear of Thunder’ (2007), ‘Territory’ (2010), and
‘Homecoming’ (2014). He has worked as Literature
Development Officer for twelve years, for Dumfries &
Galloway Arts Association and for the Wordsworth Trust. He
currently works as a freelance literature professional on a
number of projects, including the Michael Marks Awards for
Poetry Pamphlets, and as an Associate Lecturer at MMU. He
graduated from MMU on the MA Creative Writing in 2009.
His PhD, in Poetry and Environmentalism, was awarded
subject to minor revisions in March this year.

57 58
59