Anya Griffiths
Thesis
Redefining the Medical Fringe: A Visual and Textual Analysis of Medical Advertisements in English Newspapers (1770-1870)
Supervisor: Professor Mark Jenner
Research
products in English newspapers between 1770-1870. This analysis challenges the existing
narrative of medical professionalisation. The thesis suggests that throughout this period a
‘medical space’ was created in print media. Through linguistic, visual, and typographic
analysis a selection of newspapers published across England will be studied regarding their
advertising content. This PhD thesis builds on the work carried out in my master’s
dissertation for which I was funded by the Wellcome Trust. This dissertation studied the
advertising of venereal disease treatments in the late Georgian era and suggested that the
use of euphemisms in these advertisements functioned both linguistically and visually. The
analysis of linguistic features carried out in my PhD project builds on my master’s
dissertation and assesses how medical jargon, testimonies, credentials, and euphemisms
are employed in the advertising of medical goods and work together to create a cohesive
identity for these products.
Papers and publications
Publications
- ‘It Ain’t All Rose’, Vol. 1. SfSSW CIC, Autumn 2023.
Conference Papers:
- ‘Syphilis in Georgian Britain: Shaping the Modern Pharmaceutical Market’, British Society
for the History of Science Postgraduate Conference 2023, University of Oxford, 1 April 2023. - ‘Venereal Disease and the Eighteenth-Century Commercial Revolution’, Centre for
Eighteenth Century Studies PG Forum, University of York, 7 March 2023. - ‘A Brief Introduction into the History of Sex Work’ Not on My Campus UK Convention 2022,
University College London, 28 June 2022.
External Activities
-Wellcome Trust Master's Studentship in Humanities and Social Science, 2022-2023
-I am a director and creative engagement manager at SfSSW CIC. This is a Manchester based
organisation supporting students working in and researching the sex work industry. The
organisation was awarded funding from the National Lottery Community Grant in 2023. In
this role I coordinate research projects focusing on the history of Sex Work and Sexual
Health, spanning the Medieval to Victorian Era in Britain. This research has been presented
at conferences and educational events and is included in the training provided by SFSSW to
Universities across the country. Additionally, in this role I am responsible for organising
conferences, publications and exhibitions.
