Roderick McDonald

I am currently an independent scholar based in Australia following a period of 3 years living in Europe.
My PhD was completed in 2009 at the University of Sydney, part-time while working for the Australian Government. In June 2014 I took early retirement to embark on a career change into academia, and I completed my MA at the University of Iceland in 2016.
I have held two honorary fellowships in the UK: at the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research at Swansea University (2011-2014) and the Centre for the Study of the Viking Age at University of Nottingham (2016-2017.
I have a range of research, teaching and lecture experience in Sydney, Boston, Swansea, Nottingham and Anchorage, extensive experience at international conferences, as well as experience in specialist academic copy-editing.
PhD
My PhD (University of Sydney, 2005-2009) reviewed methodologies for the study of historical loanwords, compiled a corpus of Old Norse loanwords in the Gaelic languages (Old, Middle and Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) and analyzed these loanwords as indicators of social, cultural and economic influence of Scandinavians in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
MA (Medieval Icelandic Studies)
My Master’s thesis (University of Iceland, 2014-2016) was a comparative analysis of chivalric narrative in Middle Welsh and Old Norse, focusing on the roles and representation of two primary characters. The research considered the socio-political context and cultural relativities influencing both the production and reception of these related yet divergent narratives.
My Master’s coursework included:
• Current theoretical and methodological approaches to medieval studies and philology,
• Recent developments in the study of medieval languages, manuscript culture and literary analysis, and
• Intensive study of the Old Norse language and textual corpus (and its analytical challenges).