Noreen Masud is a DPhil candidate in English Literature at the University of Oxford. She holds degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on Stevie Smith's use of an aphoristic aesthetic and how it provides a basis for interpreting Smith's poetry and novels. She has published articles on Smith's work and is co-editing a special issue of Women: A Cultural Review on the author. Masud has taught extensively at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is an experienced organizer who planned a successful one-day conference on Stevie Smith's work in 2016.

1. Noreen Masud
noreen.masud@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Education
University of Oxford September 2014-present
English Literature DPhil
Holder of full AHRC award, paired with Professor Paul Slack Studentship
Thesis title: Hard Language: Stevie Smith's Aphoristic Aesthetic
Supervisors: Professor Laura Marcus and Dr Sally Bayley
Brief synopsis of research: My DPhil uncovers the narrative and interpretative implications of an
aphoristic aesthetic to provide a core basis of interpretation for Smith's poetry. The project arrives at
a model of “aphoristic narrative”, which provides a route into Smith's difficult novels.
University of Cambridge September 2011-June 2012
Criticism and Culture MPhil - Distinction
Holder of full AHRC award
Thesis title: 'Too Full of Footnotes': Excess in the Vorticist Paratext
University of Oxford September 2007-June 2010
English Language and Literature BA (Hons) – First Class (fourth in the year)
Publications
‘Pledged to the Plain: Flat Stevie’, Women: A Cultural Review (forthcoming 2017).
‘Introduction’ to Special Issue of Women: A Cultural Review (forthcoming 2017).
‘Stopping at Stonegate’ (review essay), Cambridge Quarterly (forthcoming 2017).
‘Allowing a Lapse’ (review essay), Cambridge Quarterly (2016) 45 (4): 365-372.
‘‘Ach ja’: Stevie Smith’s Escheresque Metamorphoses’, Cambridge Quarterly (2016) 45 (3):
244-267.
'Pull Yourself Together: The Collected Poems and Drawings of Stevie Smith', Oxonian Review
(7 December 2015).
Editing
Co-editor, Special Issue of Women: A Cultural Review on Stevie Smith, with Dr Frances White
(forthcoming 2017)
Teaching
Qualifications – I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, having passed the
Oxford Humanities Division’s ‘Developing Learning and Teaching’ programme in March 2016.
Postgraduate Teaching
October-December 2015: Alongside Dr Freya Johnston, I co-taught the cross-period Oxford MSt
course 'Literature in Brief' to a class of nine. The course focused on short-form writing from the
seventeenth to twentieth centuries. As well as co-teaching in class, I helped plan the course content,
comment on student drafts, and support Dr Johnston in student tutorials.

2. Undergraduate Teaching
September 2015-April 2017: I am currently Stipendiary Lecturer at St Anne’s College, teaching
Victorian and Modern literature to ten first-year undergraduates. I plan the course, set and mark
essays and deliver tutorials.
June 2016: I co-taught two classes of second-year students, alongside Dr Johnston, on ‘The
Romantic Fragment’ for the ‘Literature in English 1760–1830’ paper.
June 2015-March 2016: I supervised two third-year Oxford undergraduates, marking their essays
and delivering one-to-one tutorials.
April 2013-September 2014: I tutored two undergraduates (Edinburgh and Open University) one-
to-one, supporting them to improve their critical skills and essay-writing.
Outreach Teaching
June 2016: I taught two small-group ‘tutorials’ at Brasenose College’s Access Day, supporting
sixth-form students to develop their ideas in an Oxford-style context.
Other Learners – July 2016: I ran a workshop on ‘Blogging for Writers’ for 18 attendees, aged
between 16 and retirement age, as part of the Rothermere American Institute’s Summer School. The
workshop explored how writing blog posts for non-specialist audiences could improve critical style.
December 2012-September 2014: I provided regular one-to-one tuition to 7 students between 5
and 17, using tutorial-style teaching to enhance their independent learning skills.
Selected Awards and Grants
 2016: Santander Travel Award (£500)
 2016: Research and Training Support Grant, AHRC (£1054)
 2016: Travel award from Linacre House Trust (£120)
 2016: Conference-organisation grant from English Faculty, Oxford (£300)
 2015: Conference-organisation grant from Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (£200)
 2014: Full AHRC award for Oxford DPhil
 2012: Anuradha Bhagwati Prize (Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge)
 2011-2012: Full AHRC award for Cambridge MPhil
 2010: Davies Prize (Jesus College, Oxford)
 2008: Gibbs Prize (University of Oxford); Open Scholarship (Jesus College, Oxford)
Selected Papers Given
24 June 2016 - ‘Re-petition: Stevie Smith’s ‘pick-rag mind’: Smith’s novel The Holiday’,
British Women Writers: 1930-1960, University of Hull.
3 June 2016 – ‘Stevie Smith and the Romantic Fragment’, The Fragment, UCL.
4 February 2016 - 'The Romantic Fragment and Stevie Smith', Romanticism Research-in-
Progress Seminar, University of Oxford.
4 July 2015 - 'Solid Objects: Stevie Smith and the Aphorism', Aphoristic Modernity 1980-1950,
University of York.
20 May 2015 - 'Stevie Smith's 'Peculiar' Arthurian Myth', Myth and the Senses Research
Network, University of Oxford.
29 April 2015 - 'Truth is Far and Flat: Stevie Smith's Aphoristic Epiphanies', 20th and 21st
Century Work-in-Progress Seminar, University of Oxford.
6 December 2014 - 'Stevie Smith's Aphoristic Aesthetics', New Work in Modernist Studies,
University of Cardiff.
Faculty Service
Co-convenor, Modernist Poetry Reading Group, January 2014-June 2016: I recruited and
coordinated speakers, booked rooms, managed the mailing list, and updated the Facebook page.
EGO Webmaster and Communications Officer, October 2014-September 2015: I maintained
and ran the EGO website, Facebook page, Gmail and Twitter account. I handled enquiries,

3. troubleshot issues, and circulated notices, as well as running 'drop-in' sessions for students. In
addition, I edited, produced and circulated the termly newsletter, took minutes at EGO meetings,
and attended GCC meetings.
Webmaster, Oxford English Graduate Conference, October 2014-June 2015: In addition to
creating and maintaining the conference website and Twitter, I participated in peer review of
abstracts and liaised with Disability Advisory Services to create an access statement.
CUSU and GU English Graduate Representative, October 2011-June 2012.
Skills and achievements
Events organisation – I was lead organizer of 'We All Have These Thoughts Sometimes’, the first
one-day conference to be held on Stevie Smith's work. It took place on 11 March 2016 at Jesus
College, Oxford, with 29 speakers and 72 attendees, and came in under budget. In my role, I:
- applied for and won grants
- managed the conference budget and bursaries
- built and maintained relationships with invited speakers, speakers, performers, community
stakeholders, publishers, local businesses and local schools
- prepared and circulated the Call for Papers, and marketed the conference
- organized two interactive poetry and close-reading workshops
- curated a display of original Smith manuscripts in partnership with the Oxfordshire History Centre
- arranged a performance of 'River Gods' by Hermione Lee and Simon Rowland-Jones
- managed logistics, catering and a team of volunteers
Fundraising and relationship-building – As well as the grants listed above, I negotiated a total of
£320 for the Smith conference from a number of popular and academic publishers, as well as
arranging in-kind support from local businesses.
Budget management – I project-manage HomeR, an app development project with a budget of
£60,000, supported by an IT Innovation Award from the University of Oxford. As well as steering
the team, reporting on progress and managing deadlines, my role involves significant creative input
into the shape and design of this app, which will help first-year undergraduates to plan essays.
References on request