PERSONAL: So, what do you do?

This post is basically a very quick introduction to me.

I'm known as Jude.  I'm a postgraduate student in Medieval Studies.  I'm currently reading for my PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London, but all views expressed here are entirely my own and unrelated to the institution where I study.

My main research topic is to do with disability in miracle literature from around AD 1100 to around AD 1350.  I look at a combination of magic, miracle, medicine and palaeopathology.  My other primary research is in the archaeology of disease - particularly pathogens and pandemics.
My other main interests include the civil war in England between 1135 and 1153, and the ecclesiastical politics of the Papal Reform movement.
Most of my research relies on a combination of literary and archaeological evidence.  I'm passionate about sharing history in new ways.

I have a wonky brain - due to oxygen starvation at birth I have motor function problems and suffer from seizures, I also have fibromyalgia and a couple of other conditions which stem from atypical genetics.  I'm usually reliant on a powered wheelchair to get around (though currently (July 2018) I am using crutches most of the time for a number of reasons) due to extreme fatigue which interferes with both brain and motor function.  This also means that posting on here will sometimes be intermittent though I usually write a general 'blog housekeeping' post at least once a month to give notice if I'm not expecting to able able to post for longer than a couple of weeks etc.

Outside of my work I'm active in disability sport, and am involved in coaching as well as competing.  I write a lot, and contribute to a number of blogs.  I write silly and not so silly songs, which sometimes get performed.  I also sometimes act as a 'living anatomical model' for medical students and as an 'expert by experience' on disability and chronic illness.


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