The University of Nottingham is a major research institution and the School of English is ranked 9th in the UK for its research power.
If you are studying at Nottingham you can be confident you will be engaging with staff who are producing internationally excellent and often world-leading research.
One of our strengths is the focus on research that crosses subject boundaries both within English and across different disciplines such as psychology, IT, and nursing. Our Research page tells you more.
Amy Wilcockson, a PhD student in the School of English, discovered three new Edward Lear manuscripts while researching in the British Library. This is what Amy had to say about the finds:
"Whilst on a research trip to gather materials for my thesis, I was perusing the British Library's Charnwood Collection. I was flicking through, searching for the folio I needed when I came across a poem, 'The Last of the Octopods'. Drawn in by the odd title, I read the poem and laughed out loud, it was humorous and nonsensical. Imagine my joy when I read the signature of the poem's author - Edward Lear, the artist and poet famous for his whimsical limericks and poems, including 'The Owl and the Pussy-Cat'. My colleague Dr Ed Downey was working alongside me in the BL, and I called him over to take a look at the poem. After a hasty online search, we realised we could have something special on our hands - particularly as further perusal of the collection revealed another unpublished Lear poem and letter!
We published 'Last of the Octopods' initially in March 2020's Notes and Queries, and now have all three of these previously unpublished Lear finds published together for the first time in the TLS. I think this is a really major find for nineteenth century literary studies, and also for a wider audience too - who can say they haven't read 'The Owl and the Pussy-Cat' as a child?"
Second year English student Maddi Maya took part in Dr Christina Lee's research project, transcribing 16th - 18th century manuscripts to discover the ingredients in those recipes. This is what Maddi had to say about the project:
"I did a research project with Christina Lee this year. I got to go and work with some old manuscripts and that experience was so valuable. We were transcribing these manuscripts which were being worked on. There was a 16th, 17th and 18th century one. My job was to go into Manuscripts and Special Collections and sit for hours trying to decode these recipes! We were working with biochemistry, who were taking samples off the manuscript paper and trying to find protein signatures that matched the ingredients from the recipes which were written down. They were trying to figure out if the recipes had been used or not. It was amazing. The experience led me down a totally different route. I’m looking for work experience and potentially future jobs in archiving and manuscripts now. Christina is also just so lovely and supportive and has been really encouraging."
Read Maddi's full profile
Find out more about Christina Lee's work
This project investigated the performance and entertainment culture of the regional town of Nottingham in the mid-nineteenth-century. At its heart was the creation of an interactive online map, which provides information about what was happening in Nottingham during the nineteenth century, where performances were taking place, and who was performing.
Explore the map
In critical studies of DH Lawrence his plays are usually viewed as something interesting but inessential. However, this project shows that Lawrence remained deeply concerned with performed drama throughout his writing career and that the theatrical element of his work is key to understanding his development and overall achievement as a writer.
Project website
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