Jess Dunmore

My doctoral research recovers the 'elemental ecopoetics' of early modern natural philosophy, with a particular focus on English writers in the seventeenth century. In practice, this means I think critically about how rhetoric might provide a point of confluence between human and more-than-human actors in early modern scientific writing, working across scholarly disciplines of early modern science, rhetoric, and ecocriticism. Whilst my thesis adopts a relatively broad scope, key thinkers in my research include: Margaret Cavendish, Robert Boyle, Hester Pulter, Robert Hooke, and Thomas Browne. Informed by the nexus of material, ecological, and poetic encounters that underpin my research, I embrace the opportunities and challenges posed by creative, interdisciplinary forms of criticism.

My research interests include: early modern ecocriticism; seventeenth century natural philosophy; material studies; poetics and rhetoric; interdisciplinarity. I welcome inquiries for supervision relating to my research interests.

Within the Faculty, I co-convene Commonplace, the early modern reading group for graduate students, and also co-convene the Literatures, Ecologies, and Fictions seminar. Details of our upcoming talks and events can be found at english.cam.ac.uk/literatures-ecologies-and-fictions-research-seminar.