PhD student uses thesis competition to share English literature research on women’s bodies

A College finalist in the Australian National University’s Three Minute Thesis competition is examining negative societal attitudes toward women by analysing the representation of female bodies in literature.
 
Ashley Orr, PhD candidate in the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, says she was spurred to participate in the competition  as she knows the college’s and university’s 2014 overall winner, Rosanna Stevens, and how the experience helped share Rosanna’s research.
 
Ashley’s research concerns the way English literature interprets women’s bodies, and she was inspired to tackle the topic because of persistent inequality in society.
 
“I thought it was a good opportunity to put my research out there,” says Ashley, who is half way through her three-year doctorate on English literature.
 
“I think in the humanities there’s often a tendency to close ourselves away, but I think there’s real benefit in allowing people to see the research we’re doing and the real-world impact that is has.
 
“I think that for a long time, the body was ignored, because it was assumed to be a site of oppression and it couldn’t be anything else,” Ashley explains.
 
“I’m really interested in how literature can actually show us other ways of expressing the body that aren’t necessarily dependent on it being oppressed. There are ways for a body to act with agency and to express one’s freedom through that.
 
“I also think that a lot of criticism directed at women takes a particular bodily theme, it’s something tangible for people latch on to when judging others.”
 
Ashley has done several rehearsals to keep to the three-minute deadline because exceeding it means disqualification. Using Llewellyn Hall, the venue for the finals, has helped.
 
“It’s a space that is quite imposing, so it’s been really useful to be able to rehearse in there and get the feel of it before the night.”
 
Ashley has prior public speaking experience, mostly about her creative writing, and has enjoyed the process of thinking anew about her research.
 
“Particularly after the college-level final, because when people from other disciplines ask you questions they pose them in different ways,” Ashley says.
 
“It’s made me think about the broader impact my thesis might have, outside a purely literary audience.”
 
Ashley Orr and Sana Ashraf will represent in the College of Arts and Social Sciences in the ANU Three Minute Thesis competition final from 6:30pm on Wednesday 16 September in Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music.