Staff Profile
Dr Zoë Enstone
Associate Professor, Interim Associate Head of Humanities: English Literature
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I am currently the Associate Head for English Literature at York St John and oversee undergraduate and postgraduate provision.
My university education was at the University of Leicester. After a BA (Hons) in English, I specialised in medieval studies at postgraduate level with an MA in English Literary Research (AHRC funded) and a PhD (AHRC funded), titled ‘'Wichecraft & vilaine': Morgan Le Fay in Medieval Arthurian Literature’. I have previously taught on English literature and language modules at the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham, mainly focused on the medieval period. Prior to my role at York St John I led the Arts and Humanities Foundation Year at the University of Leeds, teaching across a range of interdisciplinary modules within the Foundation Year (including 'The Renaissance' and 'Image, Music and Text') and also on other programmes such as the BA Contemporary and Professional Studies.
I joined York St John University in 2018 to lead the Liberal Arts Foundation Year and moved across to the English Literature team in 2022 to take over the Associate Head role. In 2022 I was also promoted to Associate Professor.
In terms of research, I have an ongoing interest in transitions and changes which is reflected in both my subject research in the transformation and development of ideas, characters and tropes within and beyond the medieval period, but also in my pedagogic interest in students' transition to university.
I have completed the University of Leeds Teaching Award (Level 2) and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- School – School of Humanities
- Email – z.enstone@yorksj.ac.uk
- Research - View my work in RaY
Teaching
I teach or have taught on the following modules:
- Eboracum: York, Space and Place
- Argufying: Rhetoric, Reason and Reflection
- Identity and 'Otherness': The Self and Society
- Truth and Invention: Culture, Myth and Representation
- Freedom and Justice
- Imagining the Future: Environment, Apocalypse and the Digital Revolution
- Independent Project
- Introduction to Literary Studies 1
- Writing, Research, and Literature
- Gender and Sexualities
- English Literature Dissertation
- Historicising the Contemporary
- World, Globe, Literature
- Speculative Bodies
Research
My research background is in interdisciplinary medieval and renaissance studies, with a focus on the literature of these periods. I am particularly interested in the ideas of transition and transformation, especially in relation to the idea of power and inter-textual dialogues. My PhD thesis explored the changing representation of the character Morgan le Fay by examining possible sources and analogues in Old Irish and Old Welsh sources, as well as her depiction in Old French and a range of Middle English texts. Since then I have built on some of the key themes from my research in ongoing explorations of magic and gender in medieval works, but also in ongoing work on the transition from the Medieval to the renaissance/early modern period.
I also have interests in andragogy, especially in the delivery of interdisciplinarity (including in a foundation year context) as well as the integration of academic skills into Higher Education teaching.
Publications
Books, book chapters and journal articles
'Blended learning opportunities: skills for working with primary sources', Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 22, 2021.
'Melusine and Purgatorial Punishment: The changing nature of fays', in Melusine’s Footprint: Tracing the Legacy of a Medieval Myth, ed. Misty Urban et al. Brill, 2017, pp.259-81.
(with M. Newman) ‘Forming Firm Foundations: Integrating Interdisciplinarity in the Arts and Humanities’, In: It’s all adult education: Proceedings of 44th Annual Conference. Ed. Lindsey Fraser and Rosa Mas Giralt. Lifelong Learning Centre, University of Leeds, in conjunction with the Standing Conference on Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults, 2015.
Electronic publications
‘On Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World’, in Terra Two: An Ark for Off-World Survival ed. Liesl King, Rob Edgar and Adam Smith, https://yorkstjohnterratwo.com/, 2019
‘The Alliterative Morte Arthure’, in The Literary Encyclopedia (Medieval and Early Modern England) ed. Jamie McKinstry ], http://www.litencyc.com, 2019.
'The Vulgate Merlin', in The Malory Project, directed by Takako Kato and designed by Nick Hayward, http://www.maloryproject.com/vulgatemerlin_intro.php
‘Malory’s Sources’, in The Malory Project, directed by Takako Kato and designed by Nick Hayward, http://www.maloryproject.com/malory_sources.php
‘The Alliterative Morte Arthure’, in The Malory Project, directed by Takako Kato and designed by Nick Hayward, http://www.maloryproject.com/ama_intro.php
‘John Hardyng's Chronicle’, in The Malory Project, directed by Takako Kato and designed by Nick Hayward, http://www.maloryproject.com/hardyng_intro.php
Editions and catalogue entries
'The Roman War Episode', transcribed and edited by Jennifer De Lillo, Pip Willcox, Gavin Cole, Zoë Enstone, and Takako Kato, in The Malory Project, directed by Takako Kato and designed by Nick Hayward, http://www.maloryproject.com/
‘Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 198’ by Elaine Treharne, Zoë Enstone, Hollie Morgan and Johanna Green, in The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220, edited by Orietta Da Rold, Takako Kato, Mary Swan and Elaine Treharne.
‘London, British Library, Cotton Caligula A. xv’ by Takako Kato, Zoë Enstone, Molly Hogan, Hollie Morgan and George Younge, in The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220, edited by Orietta Da Rold, Takako Kato, Mary Swan and Elaine Treharne.
‘London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D. xiv’ by Elaine Treharne, Orietta Da Rold, Zoë Enstone, Hollie Morgan, Owen Roberson, William Green and Takako Kato, in The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220, edited by Orietta Da Rold, Takako Kato, Mary Swan and Elaine Treharne.
Pedagogic resources
Working with Primary Sources, https://zenstone9.wixsite.com/primarysources, 2020 (updated: 2021).
Kickstart, 2014 (updated: 2015; 2016; 2017).
‘Drafting, editing and proofreading’ in: ASK Brunel Academic Writing Series, http://vimeo.com/51068121, 2012.
(with C. Hopf and C. McMillan) Speaking Up, 2012.
Conferences
Conferences and papers
7 to 8 July 2021: Foundation Year Network Conference, Keele University. Title: ‘Is blended better? Interdisciplinary provision, student choice and ambiguous online realities’.
6 to 8 July 2021: Talk about Teaching for Social Justice, York St John University. Title: ‘Mind the Skills Gap: Challenging the Deficit Model for WP Learners in an Inter- (or Multi-) disciplinary Context’.
17 October 2020: York Literature Festival, York (Invited Speaker). Paper Title: ‘York in Literature’.
5 to 6 November 2019: Crisis, Gender and the Politics of Time in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, University of Southern Denmark. Paper Title: ‘Morgan le Fay, Nymue and the Ravages of Time: Women, Readers and Subversion in Malory’s Morte Darthur’.
10 to 11 July 2019: Foundation Year Network Conference, University of Sussex. Title: ‘Academic Dragons’ Den: Agency and Decision-making as Critical Classroom Tool’.
4 July 2019: Bodies of Knowledge, York St John University. Paper Title: ‘Can appearances be deceptive? Facial Hair and Identity in Sir Orfeo’.
5 February 2019: Research Into Professional Practice in Learning and Education, York St John University. Paper Title: ‘Feedback Engagement: Supporting Academic Writing Development’.
9 to 11 April 2018: The 16th Biennial Medieval Insular Romance Conference, Cardiff University. Paper Title: ‘To Beard Identity in its Den: Sir Orfeo’s Transformations’.
12 to 13 July 2017: Foundation Year Network Conference, University of Warwick. Paper Title: ‘Feedback Dialogues: Supporting Academic Development in the Foundation Year and in Transition to Level One’.
3 to 6 July 2017: International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘Sir Orfeo’s Beard’
5 to 6 January 2017: Student Education Conference and Digital Festival 2017, University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘Sharing the word: Academic writing and developing a feedback dialogue’.
4 to 7 July 2016: International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘“A pade pikes on the polle”: Women and Punishment in the Later Middle English Romances’.
7 April 2016: Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching: Frameworks and Practice, University of Sheffield. Paper Title: ‘Facilitating Interdisciplinary Encounters for Foundation Year Learners: A Module Case Study’.
3 to 4 March 2016: Inspire – Sharing Great Practice in Arts and Humanities Teaching and Learning, Higher Education Academy. Paper Title: ‘Overt and covert methods: incorporating subject-specific and generic skills into an Arts and Humanities Foundation Year programme’.
7 to 9 September 2015: International Arthurian Society: British Branch Conference, University of York. Paper Title: ‘The iconography of Arthurian women: Morgan le Fay and Melusine’.
7 to 9 July 2015: SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults), University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘Forming Firm Foundations: Integrating Interdisciplinarity in the Arts and Humanities’.
7 to 10 July 2014: International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘Ladies of the Lake: Submersion and Subversion in Le Morte Darthur’.
1 to 4 July 2013: International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds. Paper Title: ‘Ira Ignored: Morgan le Fay and Alixandre L’Orphelin’.
