School of English

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Jasmin Higgs

Research Student,

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Research Summary

Current status: PhD (full-time) - currently registered (ending 01/06/2024)

Research topic: Determining Functional Variation in the Early Runic Inscriptions.

My research focuses on the pre-Old English runic corpus(c.400-650CE), focusing on determining the functions of the pre-Old English runic inscriptions. My methodology uses approaches from runology, historical pragmatics (especially pragmaphilology), and archaeology and material culture studies to best determine a framework for analysing the runic inscriptions. I am exploring the methodological problems of applying approaches from historical pragmatics to different types of runic data, especially fragmentary and non-lexical data.

Research Interests.

  • runology and epigraphy
  • historical pragmatics and sociolinguistics
  • historical linguistics
  • Old English language

Supervisors: Professor Judith Jesch and Dr Martin Findell (UoN), and Dr Philip Shaw (Durham University)

Primary Funding Source: Midlands4Cities/AHRC.

Research Institutes, Centres, and/or Clusters: Centre for the Study of the Viking Age.

Publications.

  • Higgs, Jasmin. (2022). 'Inscribing Brooches: women and runes in fifth to seventh century Britain', Blog post for the Women's History Network, https://womenshistorynetwork.org/inscribing-brooches-women-and-runes-in-fifth-to-seventh-century-britain-jasmin-higgs/
  • Higgs, Jasmin. (2021). 'Review: Anglo-Saxon Micro-texts (2019), eds. Lenker and Kornexl', TOEBI newsletter XXVIII, 40-43.
  • Higgs, Jasmin (2017). 'Examine the value of place names as evidence for the history, landscape and, especially, language(s) of your chosen area: North Essex'. Innervate: Leading Undergraduate Work in English Studies 10, 79-90.

Conference Papers and Presentations.

  • 'Inscribed Swords from the 5th to 7th Centuries in Britain', 22nd October 2022, University of Nottingham Postgraduate Medieval Seminars.
  • 'A New Runic Inscription in York, England', 33rd Field Runologist Meeting, 9th October 2022, Uppsala, Sweden.
  • 'Determining Functional Variation in the Early Runic Inscriptions' (poster), 14th-19th June 2022, Ninth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions, Akademie Sankelmark, Germany.
  • 'Adapting Pragmaphilology for Runic Data', 25th November 2021 University of Nottingham Postgraduate Medieval Seminars.
  • 'The Functions of the pre-Old English Runic Inscriptions', 16th February 2020, University of Leicester Medieval Seminars.
  • 'The Function of the Early Runic Inscriptions in East Anglia, c.400-800AD', 27th June 2019, York Centre for Medieval Studies Postgraduate Conference: New Voices in Medieval Studies.

Public Engagement and Impact.

  • Co-Ordinator, Vikings for Schools/Anglo-Saxons for Schools Outreach Programme, University of Nottingham. August 2022- present day.
  • Learning Facilitator in Prehistory, Creswell Crags and the University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology. October 2022- present day.
  • Activities leader, Viking for Schools/Anglo-Saxons for Schools Outreach Programme, University of Nottingham. November 2021- August 2022.
  • SEN TA, primary schools in Nottingham. November 2020-Summer 2021.
  • EFL teacher. September 2018- January 2020.
  • Object handler and public outreach volunteer, University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology. November 2017- March 2018.

Further Training and Skills.

  • B2 proficiency in German language
  • TQUK Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (RQF) from The TEFL Academy

Education.

  • PhD (full time, fully funded with Midland4Cities/Arts and Humanities Research Council). 2020-2024 School of English, University of Nottingham. Research titled 'Writing Runes: Determining Functional Variation in Early Runic Inscriptions', supervised by Professor Judith Jesch (UoN), Dr Martin Findell (UoN), and Dr Philip Shaw (Durham University).
  • MA Viking & Anglo-Saxon Studies (full time, partly funded with the Christine Fell Award). 2018-2019 School of English, University of Nottingham. Graduated with Distinction. MA dissertation was 'The Function of the Early Anglo-Saxon Runic Inscriptions (c.400-650AD)', which researched the application of Speech Act Theory to early runic data.
  • BA (Hons) English. 2015-2018 School of English, University of Nottingham. Graduated with First Class Honors. BA dissertation explored Old English lexicography and lexical semantics.

School of English

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The University of Nottingham
University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5900
email: english-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk