Jasmin Higgs

Thesis title:

Writing Runes: Determining Functional Variation in Early Runic Inscriptions

My research focuses on the pre-Old English runic corpus(c.400-650CE), focusing on determining the functions of the pre-Old English runic inscriptions. My methodology uses approaches from runology, historical pragmatics (especially pragmaphilology), and archaeology and material culture studies to best determine a framework for analysing the runic inscriptions. I hope to explore the methodological problems of applying approaches from historical pragmatics to different types of runic data, especially fragmentary and non-lexical data.

Research Area

Languages and Literature

Publications

Higgs, Jasmin. (2022). ‘Inscribing Brooches: women and runes in fifth to seventh century Britain’, Blog post for the Women’s History Network, https://womenshistorynetwork.org/inscribing-brooches-women-and-runes-in-fifth-to-seventh-century-britain-jasmin-higgs/

Higgs, Jasmin. (2021). 'Review: Anglo-Saxon Micro-texts (2019), eds. Lenker and Kornexl', TOEBI newsletter XXVIII, 40-43.

Higgs, Jasmin (2017). 'Examine the value of place names as evidence for the history, landscape and, especially, language(s) of your chosen area: North Essex'. Innervate: Leading Undergraduate Work in English Studies 10, 79-90.

Conferences

‘Inscribed Swords from the 5th to 7th Centuries in Britain’, 22nd October 2022, University of Nottingham Postgraduate Medieval Seminars.

‘A New Runic Inscription in York, England’, 33rd Field Runologist Meeting, 9th October 2022, Uppsala, Sweden.

‘Determining Functional Variation in the Early Runic Inscriptions’ (poster), 14th-19th June 2022, Ninth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions, Akademie Sankelmark, Germany.

‘Adapting Pragmaphilology for Runic Data’, 25th November 2021 University of Nottingham Postgraduate Medieval Seminars.

‘The Functions of the pre-Old English Runic Inscriptions’, 16th February 2020, University of Leicester Medieval Seminars.

‘The Function of the Early Runic Inscriptions in East Anglia, c.400-800AD’, 27th June 2019, York Centre for Medieval Studies Postgraduate Conference: New Voices in Medieval Studies.

Public Engagement & Impact

Co-Ordinator, Vikings for Schools/Anglo-Saxons for Schools Outreach Programme, University of Nottingham. August 2022- present day.

Learning Facilitator in Prehistory, Creswell Crags and the University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology. October 2022- present day.

Activities leader, Viking for Schools/Anglo-Saxons for Schools Outreach Programme, University of Nottingham. November 2021- August 2022.

SEN TA, primary schools in Nottingham. November 2020-Summer 2021.

EFL teacher. September 2018- January 2020.

Object handler and public outreach volunteer, University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology. November 2017- March 2018.

Other Research Interests

historical linguistics, especially historical pragmatics

the history of orthography and writing systems

onomastics and place-names studies

the use and appropriation of runes or rune-like symbols in folk horror films

Arthurian legend adaptions

Memberships

Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland.

Teachers of Old English in Britain and Ireland.

Research and related work.

Postgraduate placement titled ‘Embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in a Doctoral Training Programme’, The Researcher Academy, University of Nottingham. February 2022-March 2022

Research Affiliate, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham. November 2021- October 2022.

Conference Assistant, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham. April 2019.

Admin Assistant, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham. January 2019-June 2019.

Curator, School of English, University of Nottingham. September 2018-February 2019.

Cataloguer, The National Justice Museum. September 2017 – March 2020.

Additional skills.

B2 proficiency in German language

A1 proficiency in Norwegian language

TQUK Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (RQF) from The TEFL Academy

Education

PhD (full time, fully funded with Midland4Cities/Arts and Humanities Research Council). 2020-2024 School of English, University of Nottingham.

Research titled ‘Writing Runes: Determining Functional Variation in Early Runic Inscriptions’, supervised by Professor Judith Jesch (UoN), Dr Martin Findell (UoN), and Dr Philip Shaw (Durham University).

MA Viking & Anglo-Saxon Studies (full time, partly funded with the Christine Fell Award). 2018-2019 School of English, University of Nottingham. Graduated with Distinction.

MA dissertation was ‘The Function of the Early Anglo-Saxon Runic Inscriptions (c.400-650AD)’, which researched the application of Speech Act Theory to early runic data.

BA (Hons) English. 2015-2018 School of English, University of Nottingham. Graduated with First Class Honors.

BA dissertation explored Old English lexicography and lexical semantics.