Dr. Maria Vaccarella

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Maria Vaccarella is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, focusing on the intersection of literature and medicine. Her research delves into genres of illness narratives, emphasizing non-linear and non-triumphant plot structures. She is particularly interested in narrative medicine, critical disability studies, narrative bioethics, and comparative literature. Vaccarella is currently writing a monograph titled 'Biomedicine in Contemporary Western Literature'. Her work includes exploring narratological criticism in the context of illness narratives and conducting empirical research mapping the cultural contexts that shape literary and biomedical studies. She has collaborated with colleagues at the School of Clinical Sciences and the Bristol Heart Institute to incorporate narrative approaches in cardiology and has co-organized events to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Vaccarella joined the University of Bristol in 2015, after a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at King's College London. She has garnered experience teaching literature and medical humanities at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Research Interests

Courses

Critical Issues Texts in Global Context Introduction to Medical Humanities Literature 1900 – Present Celebrity Cultures Illness Narratives Literature and Medicine Public Role of the Humanities Contemporary Literature Introduction to Literary Research

Requirements for University of Bristol

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.3
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:6.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:19
Reading
Required:20
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:22
Total
Required:88
Prerequisites
Upper second-class MSci honours degree in physics or related discipline Or a relevant postgraduate MSc
Application Checklist
  • Online application form
  • Academic transcripts
  • Two academic references
  • Personal statement
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Research statement/proposal
Specialization Notes

Department of Physics research themes include Astrophysics, Materials and Devices, Particle Physics, and Quantum and Soft Matter.