I am currently finishing my Master in English and History at the University of Lausanne, and I am writing my mémoire on middle English Chronicles and literary propaganda. Interested in genealogy, social and religious history, middle English and early modern English languages, I am currently working on the SNSF-funded project The Language of the Labouring Poor in Late Modern England as a student assistant.
I contribute to the project by looking at the English language used in a bygone era through transcribing handwritten documents. Looking at original letters offers an engaging view on the language used by the petitioners and writers of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. Not only does it allow an insight into the evolution of the language, but it also provides an appealing way to access individuals’ requests and personal histories.