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Humma Mouzam

Languages and Literature, University of Birmingham

Thesis title:

Beyond Britain: The Cross-Cultural Dragon in Medieval and Early Modern Arthurian Literature

Research Area

  • Languages and Literature

Conferences

-2021: Society for Renaissance Studies (SRS), Panel on 'Strange Places', Crowdcast Seminar. Paper given: 'Control and Conquer, Mounts and Monsters: Giant Spaces in the Prose Merlin and The Faerie Queene'.

-2020: Oxford Medieval Graduate Conference on 'Translation', University of Oxford, Zoom Webinar. Paper given: 'Translating Gerbert: William of Malmesbury, Pope Sylvester II and the lure of al-Andalus'. 

-2019: International Arthurian Society, British Branch Conference, Durham University. Paper given: 'Powerful Places and Stellar Skies: Medieval Britain and the astrological material of the Arab world' (revised).

-2019: EMREM Annual Symposium, University of Birmingham. Paper given: 'Powerful Places and Stellar Skies: Medieval Britain and the astrological material of the Arab world'.

Public Engagement & Impact

-2022: On Dragons and Dinosaurs. Expert on dragons in medieval literature and culture. Panellist alongside Dr Elsa Panciroli, Dr Thomas Halliday, Dr Will Tattersdill, Professor John Holmes, and author Philip Pullman. Lecture, slideshow, and discussion hosted by Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 

-2021: Shakespeare workshop. Helped facilitate learning during Dr Kate Rumbold’s Shakespeare workshop for adults studying GCSE English at Birmingham Adult Education Service. This workshop is a part of the Birmingham Stories campaign, in association with the National Literacy Trust.

-2020: Livestream session with VALUE Foundation. Invited to provide Arthurian context and expertise on the newly released game, Pendragon, created by inkle, a BAFTA-nominated independent developer of narrative games and interactive stories.

-2019: Manuscript Workshop at the Cadbury Research Library (CRL). Co-organised a workshop featuring the CRL's Mingana Collection. Presentation given: 'Serpents and Dragons, Horses and Simurghs, Lions and Elephants: Fantastic Beasts and the Shahnameh'. 

Other Research Interests

My research interests include: Arthurian literatures, medieval motifs, literary-cultural transmission (specifically twelfth-century Latin translators, twelfth-century astronomical and astrological materials and twelfth-century translations of Arabic astrological works), dragons and supernatural monsters, cross-cultural borders, insular/ national identity, crusading and apocalyptic literatures. 

Memberships

-Member of the student-led Literary Early Modern and Medieval research group (LEMMæ)

-Member of the Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CESMA)

-Member of the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies (CREMS)

-Member of the International Arthurian Society, British Branch (IAS BB)

-Past member of the Research Team at Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs) (2020-1)

-Past Literacy Champion at Birmingham Stories, the National Literacy Trust (2021-2)

Blogs

Blog 1: Flowering Folios and Medieval Manuscripts: Lambert’s Liber Floridus

https://memorients.com/articles/flowering-folios-and-medieval-manuscripts-lamberts-liber-floridus

Blog 2: Here be Dragons: Monsters of the Medieval Past, Prophetic Present and Apocalyptic Future

https://memorients.com/articles/here-be-dragons-monsters-of-the-medieval-past-prophetic-present-and-apocalyptic-future