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Louisa Pickard

Languages and Literature, University of Birmingham

Thesis title:

Bathroom to Bedroom: interpreting early modern bodily functions. My project title is: Performing Periods: uncovering the shame surrounding menstruation in early modern arts.


Research Area

  • English Language and Literature
  • Languages and Literature

Conferences

Britgrad Annual Conference 2023:

Prisoners of the Womb: Pregnant Prisoners in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Measure for Measure

Scholarships and Awards

Midlands4Cities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (2024-present)

Music Scholar at The University of Birmingham (2017-2021)

Background and Education

I completed my BA at The University of Birmingham in 2021, achieving a first class in my dual honours English Literature and French degree. During this time , I completed an Erasmus year in Montpellier, France, and spent my final year specialising in women's literature, fairy tales, and maternity.

I then undertook the Shakespeare Studies MA from 2022-2023 at The Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and was awarded a Distinction. Here, my research built upon my interests in women's studies and the female body, such as pregnancy and gossip, as explored in early modern performing arts.

Teaching

Following my BA degree, I worked as a lectrice at the Université de Paul Valery III in Montpellier. There I taught undergraduate English Literature, Language and History classes, supervised final year dissertations and ran supplementary language exchange events.

A year later, after my MA in Stratford, I was invited to return to Montpellier to teach for a second year. Alongside this, I was also welcomed into the IRCL (Institue de recherche sur la Renaissance, l'age Classique et les Lumieres). I worked with members of the department on Shakespearean research and submitted to their journal Cahiers Elisabéthiens.