A WORCESTER graduate has secured a prestigious PhD scholarship with The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Helen Hopkins has just completed her Masters of Research in Early Modern Studies at the University of Worcester, which she took after completing an undergraduate degree in English Literary Studies.
The scholarship is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under its Midlands3Cities STEAMhouse scheme.
The 34-year-old will undertake her PhD with The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Birmingham City Uni-versity.
Helen said: “I am delighted, excited, and nervous all at the same time.
“It is an amazing opportunity, which I hope will be the gateway to a research career in an area that I love, whether in the archive, at the trust in another capacity, or as a lecturer/researcher at an institution. A PhD in Shakespeare studies from Stratford doesn’t get much better – I still can’t quite believe I’ve got it.”
Helen’s project title is International Responses to Shakespeare in the Collections of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the aim is to create an international collection from the archive and investigate the interactions between the Bard and the world.
“My proposal addressed the notion of what it is to be international, and how an investigation of Shakespeare as among and between international cultures might be conducted,” she added.
