Postgraduate Profile
PhD Thesis (Working Title): 'The Theatre of Death: Ghosts, Perception and the Funerary Performance'
Research:
The aim of my thesis is to examine the social function of revenant encounters and the extent to which the intuitive fear of the corpse influenced the folklore of supernatural belief and the structure of the funerary performance.The application of phenomenological , evolutionary psychological and anthropological theories with regards to the perception and use of the body will reveal whether there exists only a select few ways to interpret (and manage) the cosmological and environmental dangers presented by the dead. The ways in which the Medieval/Early Modern populace disciplined the wild agency of the corpse will be revealed through a reflexive examination of the available literary and archaeological evidence. That is, can the episodes of revenancy and vampirism discussed by William of Newburgh and Walter Map et al find a material a corollary in the form of 'profane' burials? Can the landscape situation of the corpse and the nature of grave goods be explained within the pages of folkloric and magical texts? The interdisciplinary nature of my thesis will strive to reconcile the boundaries between the literal and material.
Other Interests:
I am interested in the iconography and politics of Medieval Last Judgement scenes, with an especial regard for the Scrovegni Chapel fresco cycle in Padua. The meaning of Iron Age bog bodies forms a part of my wider fascination into the cross cultural conceptions of death, ghosts and the supernatural. I would be interested to hear from anybody with similar interests.
My e-mail address is: Stephen.gordon@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk