Megan Constable

  • Research Student

PhD Title: Writing as Other: Investigating the ‘Right to Write’ in Fictional Representations of Disability with a Creative Response.

Megan began her PhD at Loughborough University in October 2020, having accepted a fully funded research studentship from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities in the Department of English. Megan’s research sits at the intersection of disability studies and identity politics, exploring a combination of creative and reflexive processes when writing as other, and the representation of disabilities in Young Adult fiction. Her project is supervised by Dr Jennifer Cooke and Dr Sara Read.

In 2017, Megan completed an MA in Writing for Performance and Publication in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds, graduating with Distinction. During her MA, Megan created a portfolio of creative fiction which includes: two short screenplays, a short stage play, several short stories and a novella. The novella Three Sides to Every Story was Megan’s first foray into the world of writing as other and examined some of the challenges faced by a neurotypical author writing as neurodiverse.

Megan also received a BA in Media and Communications from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2012, where she specialised in Script and Prose. At Goldsmiths, Megan was taught by some of the leading names in media, communications and cultural studies, alongside industry professionals in TV, journalism, radio and illustration.

Megan’s research is practice-led and examines the challenges faced by a non-disabled writer, depicting a character with a disability. Her thesis explores the challenges which emerge when striving to represent disability accurately, whilst balancing the needs of the narrative. Megan’s research analyses the prevalence of disability tropes in Young Adult fiction and contemplates how restrictive and oppressive representations of disability may be avoided. Megan’s exegesis also intends to further illuminate the relationship between the creative and the reflective elements of composition and provide a theoretical framework for future creative practitioners to consider when writing as other.