Curriculum Vitae

Brenda Josephine Liddy

Phone  07853041025

E-mail brenda@liddy208.fsnet.co.uk

Research

My first book, Women’s  Sevententh Century Drama is currenlty with the publishers. My second book, Warrior Lover, Fighting Side by Side to the Death: Representations of War in Female-authored Contemporary Irish Drama  will be published at the end of December 2008. This book establishes a model for women’s war drama.  This has not been done in other books and therefore this book makes an innovative and significant contribution to academic research.   

 I am also hoping to publish some article based on my research in Early Modern journals. I also plan to deliver conference papers both in UK and America. My main research interests are women’s war drama, tragicomedy and romance genres, closet dramas, performed and unperformed work and Early Modern translation strategies. I am also interested in feminist historicist theory and its application to Early Modern literature.

Teaching

I have a proven track record in delivering high quality teaching both in an academic and a community context. I have special expertise in researching and teaching Renaissance Literature, particularly Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I have planned and designed courses both for academic and health professionals and been involved in curriculum development.   I also have experience in supervising and examining students and correcting their assessed work. I did this in the University of Ulster and in colleges of Further and Higher Education. I have experience of preparing and monitoring a range of learning materials to meet learning objectives both in a community and academic context. I have excellent communication skills and am confident in teaching in a range of settings including lecturing, seminars and tutorials. I have current experience of working with students who required help with their reading and writing skills and two of these students had Attention Deficit Disorder.  I am now a fully qualified Essential Skills tutor.

Administrative /Contribution to the Community

In my early career I worked in administration where I gained qualifications in ICT and management and leadership. Since 1999, I have been involved in creating community support groups and helping to strengthen community networks in order to enhance mental health and well being. I have counselling qualifications and I would be confident in providing pastoral care for students. In my professional capacity I liaise closely with Queens and UU regarding their carers’ policy which is in place to support students who are also carers.

Planning and Organising

While studying for the Certificate in Introduction to Learning for Postgraduate Teaching Assistants, I was given instruction on planning and managing tutorials. I also received training at the University of Wales in managing and preparing course materials when I studied for the  Certificate in teaching Mindfulness. Recently I completed 8485  qualification in teaching Essentials Skills for Adult Literacy. I prepared a portfolio which contained ten lesson plans which were planned in detail and linked to the core curriculum.

I am currently preparing research papers in order to meet deadlines. I would be competent in planning and preparing proposals for submission for external funding.

Research Management Responsibilities

I am a competent researcher and would be experienced in facilitating workshops. I have experience in negotiating with external funders and handling the demands of a funding application. 

I have experience of mentoring students and clients. My counselling qualifications and life experience has made me an effective listener and I would be competent at delivering pastoral care and support to the students.

Internal and External Relationships

I would be happy to serve on the Examination Board relevant to the School of English and co-operate fully and undertake my administrate duties and to collaborate and pool resources with other staff within the school. I would be interested in developing links with external networks in order to share best practice and work in partnership. I would be really keen in contributing to the School’s outreach programme. I have experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary teams to ensure effective collaboration and team cohesion.

Communication Skills

I possess excellent communications skills. I am dedicated, enthusiastic individual who would have the ability to create and maintain excellent internal and external communications networks.   

Additional Information:

Title of Thesis: ‘Noble Heroickesses, I am Glad to Hear You Speak All As With One Voice and Tongue’: Women’s War Drama in England in the Seventeenth Century.

Opinion of External supervisor: Professor Marion Wynne-Davies, University of Dundee.

This is a well-researched thesis that demonstrates a very good level of knowledge and understanding of theoretical perspectives, relevant criticism and women’s dramatic writing of the seventeenth century. The close reading of the plays is excellent. There is clear independence of thinking and the thesis is an original one. The argument that women’s dramatic writing was influenced by the Civil War is proven and the evidence provided demonstrates that these plays shape our understanding of the canon of war literature.   

  Summary of Thesis

     The seventeenth century witnessed a remarkable  outpouring of women’s drama. This dissertation examines the social, historical and political circumstances of this period and demonstrates how the Civil War, 1642-1649, was the main catalyst of this literary output. It also introduces the key female dramatists of this period, and establishes the  social and theatrical contexts for their work. The work  begins with a consideration of Jane Cavendish and Elizabeth Brackley’s closet drama; it then goes on to look at the work of their step-mother, Margaret Cavendish; thereafter the focus shifts to the Restoration period and the work of Katherine Philips and Aphra Behn. It is argued throughout that the Civil War produced conditions which spurred the literary endeavours of these women writers.

     Women felt the effects of the Civil War every bit as keenly as the men and their lives were equally altered by the cataclysmic events which were to follow the King’s beheading. As in every war, gender differences were thrown into sharp relief. Women found themselves having to protect their property and were in many ways the protectors of the home front when their fathers or husbands went off to fight in the war. This anomalous situation produced a number of notable women dramatists, who reflected on the many changes that the conflict precipitated and produced dramas which engaged with the war. Although their role in the war was limited, their work reveals the diverse ways women experience war; consequently, the plays they produced constitute an important contribution to the Early Modern genre of the literature of war. Although these female dramatists experienced a great deal of hardship during the conflict, ironically the war acted as a catalyst to their literary creativity.  Their plays commemorate not only the hardships and uncertainties of the period, but they invoke new worlds which could be created from the old.