Oliver Jakes

Thesis title: Debt and Drama in Eighteenth-Century England

Supervisor: David Francis Taylor

Research interests: Theatre history and performance studies; new economic criticism; gender studies; politics and economics in the long eighteenth century

Doctoral research: I explore theatrical performances of debt and credit relationships in the long eighteenth century, with a particular focus on dramatic responses to acute moments of economic crisis or change. I cover plays George Lillo, Aaron Hill, David Garrick, Arthur Murphy, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Elizabeth Inchbald, as well as social and economic writing by the likes of Adam Smith, Joseph Addison, and Daniel Defoe.

Undergraduate Teaching: I teach English FHS Paper 4 (1660-1760), Paper 5 (1760-1830), and Shakespeare. I am a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Paper 6 special option, 'Early Modern Theatricality: Drama and Performance', convened by Professor Gillian Woods and Dr. Patrick Durdel. I am keen to supervise undergraduate dissertations on long eighteenth-century literature, early modern drama, and performance studies more broadly.

I completed my BA in History and English at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford (First Class), and my MPhil in English at Clare College, University of Cambridge (Distinction). I am a current recipient of the Leon-E and Iris L Beghian Graduate Scholarship at Magdalen College.