Katherine Farrimond
After completing her BA in English Literature, Katherine proceeded to study MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature, and a PhD focused on popular cinema. Katherine now works as a Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies in Brighton.
About Katherine's career
Describe your current job:
My job is a combination of teaching, research and administration. I teach modules about various aspects of popular culture and media theory, including celebrity culture, reality television and the politics of representation. I do research too, writing books and articles about the relationship between gender, sexuality and popular culture. I support other people in publishing their own work as co-editor of a small open-access publishing platform, and I also work as part of the team supporting student wellbeing at my university.
The choice of optional modules meant that I could try things outside my comfort zone, including my first-ever film studies module, which fed into the work I do today.
How did you get into this job after studying Literature at Newcastle?
It was a long process! After the BA in English Literature, I felt my time with the subject wasn’t really finished, so I studied an MA in Modern and Contemporary Studies and then a PhD which focused on popular cinema (both at Newcastle). During the PhD and in the years afterwards, I gained a range of experience teaching undergraduate modules across English Literature, Film, and Media and Cultural Studies, and published some of the findings from my thesis. This field is extremely competitive, and it is a difficult time to work in education. If you’re interested in becoming a lecturer, I would really recommend talking to your tutors, as they have first-hand experience with the challenges of studying at a postgraduate level and getting a lecturing job.
Studying Literature at Newcastle University
How has studying Literature at Newcastle helped you in your career?
The choice of optional modules meant that I could try things outside my comfort zone, including my first-ever film studies module, which fed into the work I do today. It helped me develop my research skills, writing skills, and ability to produce and evidence an argument, all of which are essential for my current work. And the huge range of expertise in the school introduced me to critical approaches to texts that I still use in teaching and research, even though I no longer work with literature.
What advice would you give to a student interested in studying Literature?
Make sure you like reading and that you’re prepared for it to be a challenge! One of the real joys of studying literature at university is the sheer amount and variety of material that you will experience, but it does require you to be enthusiastic and have good time-management skills. And bring the things you care about with you in the wider world to your studies. Literature, and the arts and humanities more broadly, offer a way to develop your understanding of politics, culture, the environment, inequality and difference, as well as your more specific knowledge of the field.
What was the best thing about studying Literature at Newcastle?
It was a course that allowed me to feel I was on familiar ground, learning more about a subject I loved from my A-Levels, while also pushing me to explore things I hadn’t been able to study before, like film studies, literary theory and the history of sexuality. I loved the city, made amazing friends and continued to live and work there for 8 years after my degree.