Morgan Boharski

Woven Words: Clothwork and the Representation of Feminine Expression and Identity in Old French Romance

Biography

Background

Morgan is a current third-year PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Fionnuala Sinclair.  Her research is concerned with uncovering feminine voice and expression found in clothwork (weaving, embroidery, etc.) represented in Old French literature from mainly the 12th and 13th centuries. 

She began her academic career at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. where she earned her B.A. with Departmental Honours in French Literature and Language and a minor in Classical Studies.

Morgan received the M D Legge Prize for proficiency in French Medieval Studies for both the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 academic year.

Responsibilities & affiliations

Morgan is a current member and past committee member of the Late Antique and Medieval Postgraduate Society (LAMPS) at the University of Edinburgh, a current fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a current member for the Scottish Museums Federation.

Undergraduate teaching

Current French 2 Literature course tutor

2017

  • "'Sole par nuit': Invisibility and Misrepresentation in Textiles in Old French Literature"  International Medieval Congress 2017.  University of Leeds. 3-6 July 2017.  Speaker.

  • "Living in a Material World: Space, Objects, and the Loss of Gendered Identity in Medieval Romance"  International Medieval Congress 2017. University of Leeds.  3-6 July 2017. Session Organiser.

  • "'Aprenez fille a coudre et afiler': Lyrical Embroidery in Guillaume de Dole" The 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies. Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A. 11-14 May 2017. Speaker.
  • "'Tot ot escrit an la cortine': Reconstructing Female Voice and Identity from the Literary Clothwork of Old French Romance" French Research Seminar Series at the University of Edinburgh. 8 March 2017.

2016

  • "Escaping Entrapment: An Exploration of the Feminine Voice Outside of the Domestic Sphere" CMS Graduate Student Conference. The Centre for Medeival Studies at the University of York. 28 - 29 June 2016. Speaker.
  • CMRS Celebration Day 2016.  The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Edinburgh. 20 May 2016. Organiser.
  • Gardens and Enclosures. The Late Antique and Medieval Postgraduate Society at the University of Edinburgh. 6 May 2016. Organiser.
  • "Kisses on Stitches:  The Fetishizing of Representational Female Bodies in Old French Literature"  Limits. The Approaching the Medieval Reading Group at The University of Cambridge.  4 May 2016. Speaker.
  • "A Thread Diving Mortal and Most Holy:  The Virgin Mary and Devotional Clothwork in the Domestic Sphere" The Centre for Medeival and Renaissance Studies at the University of Edinburgh. 8 March 2016.
  • "Reading The Stitches: An Exploration of the Female Voice in Communicative Clothwork" Dialogue and Difference in the Middle Ages. 25 - 26 Feb. 2016. Speaker.

2015

  • “'She Made Her Hands Speak for Her Voice': Women Spinning Stories in Old French Literature" CMRS Colloquium 2015. 26 May 2015. Speaker.
This article was published on