Anna Chacko, Wolfson

Biographical Information

I am a PhD candidate in the ASNC department at the University of Cambridge. I completed my undergraduate and MPhil here at the ASNC department, with both dissertations focussed on medieval Irish literature. My current research focusses on self-conscious style in medieval Irish narrative texts, especially Aislinge Meic Con Glinne, 'The Vision of Mac Con Glinne' and Tromdám Guaire, 'The Burdensome Company of Guaire'. As part of this investigation, I am comparing medieval Irish narrative strategies and themes to some parallel developments in the context of medieval French romance.  

Recently, I have served as Co-President of CCASNC (Cambridge Colloquium in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic) and will be acting as co-Editor-in-Chief of the forthcoming publication of its proceedings in Quaestio Insularis.

Research Interests

I am interested in medieval literary theory, language theory and logical method, and in the roles of poet-protagonists in medieval Irish narratives. I am also interested in comparative approaches to medieval studies and comparative literary theory. As part of my doctoral research I explore some parallel developments in the context of French romance as a framework through which to consider possible reflections of other kinds of development in Ireland, particularly relating to changes to intellectual culture, epistemological method and the social role of poets. I am also interested in how critical approaches to more modern cultural transformations, particularly the modernist and postmodernist movements, can be usefully applied to medieval texts and contexts.  

I have side interests in medieval Welsh, Old Norse and Old English literatures, Celtic philology and English folklore. I have a working knowledge of the medieval languages already mentioned, plus Insular Latin, modern French, Italian and Spanish. I am currently attending classes in modern German and modern Irish.