Matthew Lear
Thesis title: Gathering the Mess: Repurposed Poetics and Anthropocene Time
English Literature
Year of study: 1
- English Literature
- School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Contact details
- Email: M.J.Lear@sms.ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Background
Matthew studied English as an undergraduate at the University of Exeter, receiving the Dean’s Commendation for Exceptional Academic Performance. After working briefly as an English teacher in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, he studied for an MPhil in English Studies: Criticism & Culture at the University of Cambridge. He is a first year PhD student and his project on Repurposed Poetics and Anthropocene Time is funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
Qualifications
MPhil English Studies, University of Cambridge, 2021.
BA (Hons) English (1:1), University of Exeter, 2019.
Research summary
Matthew's research focuses on natural archives and the notion of ‘repurposed’ poetics, whereby writing is recycled – both textually and materially – to think more dynamically about environmental contexts. He is interested in how literature engages with the temporal and ontological theories generated within Anthropo-scene discourse.
Past research interests
Matthew has previously worked on the Philosophy of Attention in the works of Iris Murdoch, Miklós Vető, and Simone Weil. He has a strong interest in identity, property and institutional crises in (Post-)Celtic Tiger Irish fiction.Affiliated research centres
Current project grants
Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship