Rhoslyn Beckwith

I will always be incredibly grateful to the James Pantyfedwen Foundation for making my doctorate in German Studies at Swansea University possible. It really has taken my life on a different path, and this was only possible thanks to the support of the charity.

I began my PhD in Autumn 2018 and while it was perhaps one of the most difficult times of my life, as I lost my mum to cancer and had to continue my doctorate through the pandemic, it remains one of my proudest achievements. Thanks to the generosity of James Pantyfedwen, I was able to really make the most of my PhD experience, devoting my time to research, study and the development of skills required in academia.

In terms of my studies, I was thrilled to be able to write and publish an article in one of the leading journals in my field, German Life and Letters, as well as present my research at so many exciting conferences, including several in Germany (via Zoom). I was also delighted to be chosen to present the prestigious Sylvia Naish lecture at the University of London Senate House in 2022 on my topic “Sex and the Sisi,” referring to the Austrian Empress from the 1800s and contemporary, postmodern representations which show a very different side to her life.

I also greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to teach undergraduates at Swansea University both in person and virtually, covering a wide range of subjects from European literature to German language for beginners and film modules. At the same time, it was an honour to be invited to become a member of the Postgraduate National Colloquium for German Studies committee, organising virtual conference days for students across the UK so that we could offer peer support and a warm supportive colloquium environment even during this period.

Outside of my PhD I also continued to study Welsh even as we changed to Zoom classes and I was speaking to my class in Port Talbot from my childhood bedroom in Cheltenham. It is only thanks to the support of this charity that I won the Basil Davies memorial trophy, presented by WJEC and the National Centre for Learning Welsh for achieving the highest mark in the WJEC Sylfaen exam in 2022.

I just wanted to thank you so much because it’s only because of your support that these things were possible. My PhD has taught me so much about identity, memory, and the role of women in society and I have grown as a person through the opportunities which have opened up to me. As a consequence of the times we have all lived through and my increasing awareness of the need for more mental health support, something which history so often wishes to erase when we depict our perfect historical female ancestors, I am now studying for a conversion MSc in psychology, a subject I have become increasingly passionate about as I have progressed through my doctorate.