My name is Halimah. I’m a BA English Literature and History student. I worked with fellow university student Chloe Alhadeff on the Collaborative Research Internship in the Project “The Dramas of Wilkie Collins” headed by Dr Caroline Radcliffe, Reader in Drama and Performance, Department of Drama and Theatre Arts.
To be honest, I applied for the Collaborative Research Internship quite frantically the night before the application deadline – a situation I am sure many of us can relate to. Although the prospect of conducting significant research while collaborating with an accomplished academic immediately piqued my interest, the pessimist in me simply assumed that I would not be selected… so why even apply? With hindsight, I am so very glad I did. Thanks to the internship, I experienced a wonderfully rewarding summer during which I developed many transferable skills, learned how a research project is conducted from the inside out and discovered a great deal about myself in the process too.
I remember going into the scheme with an open mind and an eagerness to develop my understanding of how to navigate and research archival materials as well as the dramatic output of Victorian author Wilkie Collins. Unfortunately, I knew very little about the novelist and playwright, and so made sure to conduct some much-needed research beforehand. Here is a brief overview for those who are similarly unfamiliar with his work:
Born in nineteenth century London, Wilkie Collins first found pleasure in inventing stories as a young schoolboy and thus began to write very early on. Though he spent some time studying law as a young adult, he achieved great success and notoriety primarily by authoring novels and plays. ‘The Woman in White’ and ‘The Moonstone’ are two of his most well-known works. Collins was also known for his large circle of friends which included many of the foremost playwrights, musicians, and artists of the time. He often collaborated with Charles Dickens, notably when staging and writing plays.
When Chloe (my research partner) and I met up with our project lead Dr Caroline Radcliffe, she explained more about her soon-to-be-released monograph centered on the dramatic works of Wilkie Collins. Caroline was also extremely welcoming and warm! I felt far less daunted when she reassured us that our hours were not fixed and that we could work around our other commitments during the six weeks of our collaboration.
My first task was to enquire about and organize the permissions of an illustration Dr Caroline sought to use in her book. Each week we continued to be set various different tasks like this and, in turn, Chloe and I’s day to day routine changed greatly throughout the course of the programme. I significantly improved my organizational and email communication skills when liaising with archives across the UK in order to negotiate permissions and copyrights for the use of images. I learned how to efficiently navigate online archives, as we spent a lot of time seeking out relevant contemporary newspaper reviews and illustrations of Wilkie Collins’ stage productions. Sometimes we were instructed to look for specific newspapers and images too. Chloe and I also spent time in the Cadbury Research Library during the scheme – we worked collaboratively to find and browse through archival material in person. This was a greatly insightful experience since it was my first time searching through their online catalogue and manuscript collections.
It is safe to say that the Collaborative Research Internship was everything I expected and more. I significantly developed my research skills, and I now feel much more prepared for my dissertation and confident going into third year. The transferable skills I have gained will be useful not only for the remainder of my time at university but also when I enter the (real) world of work too. It was a pleasure working alongside both Chloe and Dr Caroline – I couldn’t be more glad that past me decided to bite the bullet and apply!
Halimah Mahmood, BA English and History