PhD pULse podcast series welcomes Aaron Keane

In this episode of PhD Pulse, we are joined by ⁠Aaron Keane⁠, a first-year PhD candidate at the⁠ University of Limerick's School of English, Irish & Communication⁠. Aaron's story is one of passion and perseverance, beginning in his secondary school days when he was introduced to Latin through extracurricular lessons. Despite being the only student to continue with the lessons, Aaron's fascination with the language grew, setting the stage for his future academic pursuits.

Aaron's undergraduate studies at the University of Limerick further fuelled his interest in historical languages, particularly Old English. His final year project on King Alfred's translations of Latin texts into Old English laid the groundwork for his current PhD research.

Under the mentorship of ⁠Dr Carrie Griffin⁠ of UL and ⁠Prof. Tom Birkett⁠ of UCC Aaron has embarked on an exploration of how Latin texts were adapted into Old English, focusing on the changes made to make these texts more intelligible to the English-speaking audience of the time.

Throughout the podcast, Aaron shares the intricacies of his research, explaining how he examines the translation process, identifying what was added, omitted, or altered in the texts. He highlights the importance of understanding these changes to gain insights into the cultural and religious attitudes of the period.

Aaron candidly discusses the challenges of conducting doctoral research in two dead languages, emphasising the scarcity of Old English texts compared to Latin. He notes the difficulties posed by the limited availability of resources and the need to rely on digitised texts and translations.

Despite these challenges, Aaron's dedication to his research is unwavering, driven by a desire to preserve these historical texts and create a community of Old English and Latin scholars at the University of Limerick.

Looking to the future, Aaron envisions a career in academia, aspiring to become a university lecturer. He believes in the importance of passing on knowledge to future generations, ensuring that the rich history of languages like Old English and Latin is not forgotten. Aaron's advice to prospective PhD candidates is to approach their research with a clear question and to actively build an academic network to support their journey.

Join us in this episode as Aaron Keane takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of historical languages, offering insights into the past and inspiring a new generation of scholars.