Tamara Peeters: The political language of the War of the Roses

Tamara's research is carried out with the School of English, having been awarded a Midlands3Cities studentship.

Her PhD, ‘The political language of the Cousins' war’, is mainly concerned with whether the language that can be found in a variety of different documents, from personal correspondence to royal declarations, reflects the power struggles taking place in the late 15th century, during the Wars of the Roses.

Tamara is from the Netherlands, and moved to Birmingham after gaining a place on the Midlands 3 Cities Doctoral Training Partnership with Birmingham City University.

“What I am mainly interested in is whether the language that can be found in a variety of different documents, from personal correspondence to royal declarations, reflects the power struggles taking place in the late 15th century.

“I was not expecting to be selected for the Midlands3Cities studentship since it is such a prestigious programme. 

“The partnership is an interesting opportunity, as it allows the University, as well as the students, to build a network of academics from different disciplines.

“This interdisciplinary nature gives the opportunity to really come up with new approaches to previously studied material and offer a range of new insights in many different fields. 

“It also gives the University the opportunity to attract talented young researchers from different academic backgrounds with different projects, and helps shape the next generation of scholars.”