Joanne Spearman

Research focus

I am researching the historical fictions of William Godwin and Mary Shelley and the relationship between genre and politics in their work. These novels - Godwin's Mandeville and St Leon and Shelley's Valperga - have often been over shadowed by the authors' other major works, namely Godwin's Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and Shelley's proto-science fiction Frankenstein. Lack of critical work surrounding these historical novels has meant that their contribution to the development of the historical fiction as a genre and the value of their political writing through fiction has been largely unrecognised.

Moving forward, I would like to explore another of Shelley's historical fictions, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck: A Romance, currently still out of print, or even move towards looking at Godwin's pastoral romance, Imogen.

I chose to study a research Masters degree to deepen my understanding of Literature and research (I missed studying after completing my undergraduate degree some years earlier) and also to increase my employment opportunities.

Postgraduate study experience

I chose USW as this is where I studied for my undergraduate degree and I had a great experience. The Literature department is fantastic and I was keen to replicate the positive experience I had previously had. I currently work as a lecturer in further education and have been working in education for a number of years. Alongside teaching in a college, I also teach evening dance classes.

Although it has been difficult sometimes to manage my workload, especially during particularly busy times in work, I have thoroughly enjoyed studying something I care deeply about.

For others considering postgraduate research, my advice would be to choose something you love, keep talking to your tutors, and cut yourself some slack. It can be a hard slog at times, and it's so easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself, but making sure that you communicate regularly with your supervisor so they are aware of any issues and able to support you, is really important.

I found the weight of my own expectations very difficult to cope with at times, wanting a perfect thesis and wanting things to be just right before saying they're done. That really slowed me down at times. It's a difficult battle sometimes, but being able to cut yourself some slack and celebrate the work you have done has been really important for me.