What is your topic of research and what led you to choose it?
I am looking at how museums present stories around disability – what objects linked to disability are held within their collections, and what they choose to do with these objects.
I chose to do this because I am interested in hidden histories, and disability had been under-researched. I am disabled myself, as I am autistic and dyspraxic, and I had to use a laptop throughout my schooling. This tangible representation of my disability got me wondering: what else had been used by disabled people in the past? How are these stories shared, and whose voices are heard? Because I wanted to find out the answer to this, I decided to take pursue it with my studies.
Where did you study previously? What was your academic path?
I began my academic path studying Philosophy and Politics, simply because I found it interesting and I wanted to learn. I then did a Museum Studies MA at Leicester through distance learning, while volunteering at a school and a museum and also working part time. After that, I trained as a history teacher, doing this for a short time before deciding it wasn’t for me. I love teaching, but I wanted to continue with my studies, and had come to realise that disability history had been under-researched. That was when I decided to apply for a PhD.
What is your favourite museum or art gallery, and why?
My favourite museum is the Pitt Rivers in Oxford, for two main reasons. First of all, I simply find it fascinating – I love how they are working to approach issues of representation and voice, such as in their recent Beyond the Binary exhibition exploring LGBTQ+ heritage, and also the atmosphere of the place. There is so much there, and I could visit regularly and never get bored.
It was also the site where I got my first real experience as a museum volunteer, leading school groups around the collection and talking to them about Ancient Egypt. It was this work that confirmed to me that I wanted to work in museums.
More locally to Leicester, I am very fond of Derby’s Objects of Love, Hope and Fear, which is a wonderful co-produced display exploring common humanity, and also I love the new Ancient Egypt display at New Walk (Now called Leicester Museum and Art Gallery).
Do you have any advice for future PhD students?
If you can, go for it! If there’s something you’re passionate about, speak to people who are around, including potential supervisors and current students. You have to be passionate about the topic you are studying, but if you have a subject you want to look into, do try it. (The other side to this, however, is if you’re just doing a PhD for the sake of it, you won’t necessarily have a great time.) Everyone has rough days, but I’ve found the experience to be enjoyable, and I feel like I have learned a lot.
If you don’t have the ability to pursue a PhD immediately after your MA, remember that this is something you can come back to later. There are plenty of ways to learn, and just because the time isn’t right now doesn’t mean it won’t be later.
Twitter handle: @ourobjects