Elsa Cecilia Sidonie Perryman-Owens (UCL) - 2022-23 Students
zcraecs@ucl.ac.uk

Melted, Singed, Incinerated, Saved: Traumatic Materialities of the Great Fire of London

I will explore the human experience of physical catastrophe by examining the material culture of the 1666 Great Fire of London. Building on the strong foundation of existing historical and archaeological research, I will use a novel interdisciplinary approach that consists of art historical visual and material analysis and close reading of primary sources, with a theoretical approach drawing from the emerging field of Early Modern trauma studies. Interrogating objects lost, damaged and purposefully saved from the Fire, I will uncover the relationship between this historical catastrophe and its human consequences.

Primary supervisor: Dr Allison Stielau, UCL
Secondary supervisor: Professor Jason Peacey, UCL