Current PhD Students

Kilmeny Chernys

Thesis Title:

She Who Laughs...The Intersection of Agency and Humour in British Women Writers, 1920-1950

Supervisor:

Dr Nicoletta Asciuto

Description:

My project seeks to expand binary modernisms through the intersection of humour and agency in the works of British women writers—1920 - 1950. Humour—and the pejorative categorisation of “middlebrow”—has impacted critical analysis of form, tone, and intention in these novels; however, strategic use of middlebrow humour acted as an entertaining and accessible medium to discursively enact forms of female agency in a hostile post-suffragist political climate. Closer examination of archival documents (diaries, reviews, correspondence) and new analysis of published works demonstrates the complexity of these novels, revealing an intentional delivery of coded messages in support of women’s financial and bodily autonomy.

Email: kilmeny.chernys@york.ac.uk