Claire Turner

Profile

I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2018 with a First Class BA Honours in History and recently completed my MA in the History of Health, Medicine and Society at the same institution. During my time at Leeds, I developed an interest in epidemiological history and the social history of early modern London. My BA dissertation focused on the relationships between physical and metaphorical space and vulnerability in London’s 1603 and 1625 plague epidemics. In my MA dissertation, I turned my focus to sensory experiences of the plague in London’s seventeenth-century epidemics. My PhD, which I started in 2019, will follow on from my MA by exploring multisensory experiences of the plague in seventeenth-century England. Both my MA and PhD were made possible by funding from the School of History and IMS.

Research interests

My research investigates how people experienced epidemic disease through their senses in seventeenth-century England. It will explore interactions between the traditional five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste and touch) and assess how sensory interplay affected the way that people experienced and remembered the plague. 

Qualifications

• BA History
• MA History of Health, Medicine and Society