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Alumni news
We are always delighted to hear from members of our alumni community – whether it be career news, personal milestones or professional achievements. Here are just a few highlights from 2019/20.
We welcome news from our alumni. If you would like to share it with us, please contact alumni.officer@mansfield.ox.ac.uk
1 Revd Andrew McLuskey Theology, 1989
Andrew has been accepted by the University of Roehampton to study for a PhD. He will be drawing on the work he did at Mansfield for the certificate in Theology way back in 1990.
Andrew’s PhD will explore the so-called Anthropic Principle (a new version of the traditional design argument for the existence of God). In particular he will be looking at how far the Principle supports Panentheism.
2 Colton Valentine MSt English, 2018
Colton won this year’s Leon Edel Prize with his dissertation: ‘Not noticing, infallibly:
the critical liaisons of Henry James, French decadence, and Honoré de Balzac’. His essay was subsequently published in the spring 2020 issue of the Henry James Review.
‘The essay reads diachronically across Henry James’s critical writings to link his gradual sidelining of French decadence with his concurrent volteface on Honoré de Balzac. It argues that James’s later criticism creatively misreads Balzac as a pseudo- decadent writer – a process I call “gilding”. I am so grateful for Professor Mendelssohn’s supervision, the support of the Ertegun Scholarship, and the Mansfield community for making the research possible, and so pleasurable, last year on the MSt.’
3 Dhruti Shah English, 2000
Dhruti has published her debut work, Bear Markets and Beyond: A bestiary of business terms (Portico, 2020).
In this new book Dhruti, and her fellow BBC journalist and co-author Dominic Bailey, guide readers through the confusing world of business jargon – from loan sharks to alligator spreads.
October and answers another huge question children ask about life: What happens when we die? It aims to show that a scientific answer to this question is no less beautiful and awe-inspiring than traditional stories.
Isabel has spoken about Fox on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. This programme is still available to listen to, here: www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/p08t3hbd
6 Joshua Glick JYA, 2005
Josh attended Mansfield as a JYA in 2005. He was studying abroad from Cornell and focusing on English/Modern History as well as writing lots of movie reviews for various Oxford publications.
‘Mansfield had a big impact on my life. I went on to get a PhD at Yale and for the past couple of years have served as an Assistant Professor of English, Film, and Media at Hendrix College. This past year I was a Fellow in MIT’s Open Documentary Lab, working on some new projects related to documentary, the media industries, and the dangers of misinformation.’
7 Lizzie Nunnery English, 2000
Lizzie’s latest play, Heavy Weather, has been published by Nick Hern Books.
It’s a play for young performers,
exploring themes of climate change and disorientation in the digital age. This is her eighth published play text.
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Hank Kopel
PPE, 1980
Hank has signed a publication contract for a new book, War on Hate: How to Stop Genocide, Fight Terrorism, and Defend Freedom.
The book argues that monitoring, targeting, and disrupting outbreaks of mass, ideological hate incitement are a critical component of confronting and preventing both genocides and global terrorism.
Hank works as a criminal prosecutor with the US Justice Department in Connecticut, where he and his family live.
5 Isabel Thomas Human Sciences, 1998
Isabel’s picture book, Moth: An Evolution Story (Bloomsbury, 2018), which explores natural selection, recently won the biggest prize for science writing for young people in the US, the AAAS Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books 2020.
Her follow-up, Fox: A Circle of Life Story (Bloomsbury, 2020), was published in
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