Profile

I live with my husband in Oxford. We have two little boys and two cats, and we all live in a cottage by the river. My favourite things to do are baking, rowing and spending time with my family. I love science fiction, reading, movies and eating cheese.

Before my second son was born, I started my day with sculling on the Isis (the Thames when it runs through Oxford). Now, I’m too tired so I have breakfast, cycle to my office at college and read the papers while I drink some coffee. I print out the essays I stayed up late marking the night before ready for tutorials with my students. They arrive hourly in pairs and we discuss their work and go through how to answer the questions I set them. I eat lunch in college and talk to my colleagues.  Sometimes I give lectures in the Faculty, or have meetings with college and faculty colleagues about administrative things. I answer a lot of emails! I manage my research projects, which often means organising meetings or giving my research assistants tasks. If I’m lucky, I have time to read some articles and do some writing of my own. Some days I go to conferences or workshops to talk about my research interests. Other days I work on a piece of writing. I leave at 5pm and once my children are in bed, I have a rest then spend a few hours reading and writing if I can.