Dr Jennifer Farrell

• Medievalist and member of the Exeter Centre for Medieval Studies & The Centre for Magic and Esotericism
• Representative for E&S colleagues in Archaeology & History on the Department Leadership Team / Education Committee
• Member of the Athena Swan Committee for Archaeology & History
• Member of the Curriculum Reform Working Group for Archaeology & History

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Research keywords: medieval magic and prophecy, medieval gender and sexuality, medieval otherworlds (and the supernatural), medieval historical writing, courtly and romance literature.

Follow me on Insta @medievaljen

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My research interests are primarily concerned with medieval representations of the supernatural (prophecy, magic and the 'otherworld') and with medieval representations and discussions of gender and sexuality. To this end, I am currently working on two projects addressing each of these areas of interest, both of which are outlined in the 'Research' section of this profile.

My teaching interests lie more broadly within the field of European medieval studies, including most especially the social, cultural and political histories of England and France c. 1100-1500. I convene modules at all levels including: Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages, Medieval Paris, and Magic in the Middle Ages. For a full list of modules taught or convened by me, please see the 'Teaching' section of this profile.

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You can find me on Twitter @dr_j_farrell where I tweet in a personal capacity about all things medieval, especially magic, gender, prophecy, and medieval histories and romance literature.

I also manage the Twitter account for the Centre for Medieval Studies @ExeterMedieval, where you can stay up to date on all the latest medieval news and events from Exeter and elsewhere. You will also find details there of our Centre seminar series, which is a forum for medievalists to give papers on their latest research, and which is open for all staff and students (undergraduate and postgraduate) to attend. We usually meet four or five wednesdays per term.

For the Centre's website (managed separately) see http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/research/centres/medieval/

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Biography:

I began my studies in 2004 at University College Dublin with a B.A. Joint Honours in History and Greek and Roman Civilisation. This was followed by a Masters in Medieval Studies, where I focused on the role of prophecy in the medieval concept of history. I then began studying for my doctorate during which point my interest and background in classics once again became a key component of my research. I completed my PhD in 2012 at University College Dublin with a dissertation on 'Prophecy as History: The Classical and Christian Inheritance of Geoffrey of Monmouth'.

In 2009 I was awarded the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholarship by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Science for the duration of my doctorate, and since then I have held teaching and research posts at University College Dublin, the Michaél Ó Cleirigh Institute, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Exeter.

Between 2012 and 2014, I also served as co-director of Stair Ltd., an Irish Public History Consultancy which provided high-quality historical content to public institutions across Ireland, before moving to Exeter to teach at the university.

Research supervision:

Over the years I have supervised individual research projects at undergraduate and postgraduate level on a range of exciting topics including: gender and medieval demonology, medieval fairy mythologies, medieval afterlives and fairyland, medieval masculinities and the sexed body, Arthur and the medieval cult of kings, medieval witchcraft and demonology, healing magic as popular religion, and more...

I am happy to chat about supervising projects on any aspect of medieval beliefs in the supernatural, medieval gender, and medieval historical or romance writing, and am particularly keen to support students working on areas related to the following:

- medieval demonology

- medieval prophecy

- medieval magic

- representations of the supernatural in medieval historical and literary texts

- gender and sexuality in medieval historical and literary texts