Mabel Mundy
Doctoral Student in Literature - Mabel’s thesis is entitled ‘Queer Reading Processes: Women Readers and Female Homoeroticism in Renaissance Romance’.
Research Project Title:
Queer Reading Processes: Women Readers and Female Homoeroticism in Renaissance Romance
Supervisors:
Prof Kate Chedgzoy, Dr Ruth Connolly, Dr Edel Lamb (QUB) + Prof Jenny Richards
Contact Details:
Email: m.mundy2@newcastle.ac.uk
Research Interests:
- Early Modern Romance
- Early Modern Drama
- Female Queerness
- Early Modern Women's Reading
- Gender & The Body
- Embodied, Oral & Communal Reading
Brief Outline of Research Project:
My project conducts a historicised queer reading of early modern romance texts, with a specific focus on Sidney鈥檚 Arcadia (1580-93), Spenser鈥檚 The Faerie Queene (1590-3) and Cavendish鈥檚 The Convent of Pleasure (1668).
I extend this focus to the early modern female readers of romance, such as Constance Aston Fowler and Elizabeth Livingstone Delaval, investigating how these texts could 鈥榞ive rise to鈥� queer literary self-fashioning.
Publications and Conferences
鈥淚magining "Uncouth Love" of "Some Third Sex": Reader Participation in the Queer Arcadia." Sidney Journal, vol. 41, no. 1, 2023, pp. 139-151.
March 2024 - Queer & Trans Philologies: 鈥淯nmooring Masculinity From Maleness: 鈥楰night鈥� as a Gender in Early Modern Romance鈥�
November 2023 - British & Irish Spenser Seminar: 鈥淢ost plausible and pleasing鈥�: Early Modern Queer Reading of The Faerie Queene鈥�
September 2022 - Sidneys of Penshurst & Beyond: 鈥淯ncouth Love" of "Some Third Sex": Reader Participation in the Queer Arcadia鈥�
Outreach:
In 22/23 and 23/24 I have taught on the undergraduate module Introduction to Literary Studies II. Prior to teaching at 缅北禁地 I worked as a private tutor, specialising in supporting home-educated children and teenagers transition to formal education.
From 2021 to 2022, I served as the treasurer for Barricades: A Les Mis Convention, a hybrid conference/convention that blended traditional academia with fan-produced work. Our range of speakers included Professor Bradley Stephens, Professor Kathryn Grossman and Dr Sarah Whitfield, along with many passionate fans presenting their own analyses, translations & historical papers. The event was a success, raising $1590 for Just Detention International.
Since early 2021, I have been serving as Treasurer of the convention committee for Barricades: A Les Mis Convention. Barricades is an online, hybrid event blending fan convention with academic conference, with all event profits donated to charity. Barricades successfully took place in April 2022, raising $1590 for Just Detention International and featuring a wide range of panels by speakers including Professor Bradley Stephens, Professor Kathryn Grossman, Dr Sarah Whitfield & many passionate fans presenting their own analysis, translations and introductory guides to French Romanticism. Tickets to the event were affordably priced at 拢10 for the whole weekend, with free scholarships available to remove any financial barrier.
My role within the convention has included managing finances, coordinating volunteers, overseeing social media outreach, designing & producing the logo, and hosting/introducing panels during the event itself.