PhD student blog - Nathan Lewis Bramald

Nathan is a PhD student in the Department of English within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In this blog post, Nathan reflects on his recent experience at the University of Georgia as part of the Hybrid PhD Fellowship program.

My visit to the University of Georgia as part of the Hybrid PhD Fellowship program was an incredibly enriching experience on a personal, professional, and academic level. Having never travelled abroad alone before, it was great to be given the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and plan and participate in a trip based around academic and professional commitments. I gained invaluable global academic connections via networking opportunities with my UGA academic mentor professor David Saltz and Professor Isiah Lavender III whom I met during his UGA sponsored visit to Liverpool last fall. I’m excited to continue to develop some of these connections which I believe will continue to provide fruitful engagement opportunities in my future career.

Expanding research horizons

My research project at UGA was adapted from work I began during my MA program at the University of Huddersfield. I have been researching ‘soft’ digital humanities techniques that can be used to probe global theatre and performance networks and uncover information about productions which would normally be difficult to access due to geographic and language barriers. Specifically, I have been looking into performances of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in contemporary Iran, studying how directors have chosen to adapt the play in relation to contemporary social issues related to women’s liberation.

What I have lacked during my perusal of this research strand thus far is a proper background in theatre and performance studies, as well as experience working in the digital humanities. Professor Saltz was incredibly helpful in directing me towards resources that would be useful for my research, and I was able to make immense strides during the short period I was in Georgia in relation to the direction and application of my research. David and I have agreed to continue our professional relationship beyond my visit, and I look forward to publishing my research with his guidance, hopefully before the completion of my PhD studies.

Embracing new opportunities

This fellowship provided me with the unique opportunity to focus on a research area outside of my normal PhD focus (literature and science). I feel that this has opened up many doors for me post-PhD and given me a chance to indicate the wide reach of my academic interests and capabilities. Without this fellowship, it is unlikely that I would have had the opportunity to pursue this research strand during my time at Liverpool, and I’m excited to see where it will take me in the future. I feel strongly that my personal and professional confidence has grown immensely as a result of this experience, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have taken part in this fellowship program.