Rachel Hare has won the Bristol Doctoral College's Three Minute Thesis competition, with a presentation on her research entitled 'The Art of the Swoon'. The annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition challenges competitors to be clear, compelling, and, above all, concise as they deliver a spoken presentation on their research topic in a mere 180 seconds with one static slide. Rachel competed in and won two semi-final and final rounds, both in front of a live audience and judging panel. 

Rachel writes of her work and experience:

My research examines fainting in plays staged between 1580 and 1642 and the wider ways it is conceptualised in early modern medical, religious and conduct literature and other cultural texts. Swoons illuminate how bodily and emotional vulnerability is understood differently in men and women, while also exposing the precarity of gender expectations.

My three-minute thesis (3MT) presentation focused on men's faints, drawing on examples from medieval romance, Shakespeare, Bridgerton and Harry Potter to diagnose and destabilise the ways we think about the relationship between masculinity and bodily strength. By tracking the swoon trope through time, my talk suggests the need for more diverse and dynamic narratives of gender, emotion and identity.  

I loved participating in 3MT! It's a fantastic opportunity to think about a research project from a new perspective, consolidating and clarifying the core questions and finding accessible and engaging ways to communicate ideas to a general audience. It was also great fun to meet the other competitors and listen to their fascinating presentations; they’re working on everything from butterflies to bones and teeth, malaria to volcano-mapping, which really demonstrates the breadth of research happening at Bristol. 

You can find more information on 3MT here.