I am primarily interested in the adaptation and appropriation of existing narratives in contemporary fiction. I am passionately committed to understanding and mapping the relationship between art, myth and culture – particularly in the modern funnelling of the mythic impulse into literature, film and drama. Having wider considerations of the importance of enduring and evolving narratives, a key component of my thesis is a comparative analysis of theories of myth and theories of fantasy with the view of constructing an understanding of the history of these terms and a focused and specific definition from which to proceed.
Related to my primary research interests in the evolution of narrative, I am increasingly interested in the ability of art to develop our individual understanding of the world. The human propensity to make meaning out of existence by forming experience and knowledge into narrative form is an area on which an increasing amount of research is focusing. This is of great interest to debates surrounding the value of the Humanities in both the academic pursuit of knowledge and in the wider impact of the discipline outside of the higher education institution. I am therefore particularly interested in the dissemination of my research through open access and public engagement.
I am an active member of the research community both on campus and online and I run a research blog, Telling Tales: Adventures in Post-PhD Life. In addition to my blog, I am also an avid social media user and regularly use tools such as Facebook and Twitter to participate in discussions and further disseminate my research.