Eva Momtaz

Eva Momtaz

Department of English Literature
Doctoral Researcher

Contact details

PhD title: Milton and the Modern Muslimah: Paradise Lost and British-Asian Muslim Women
Supervisors: Professor Hugh Adlington and Professor Peter Morey
PhD English Literature

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English Literature (University of Birmingham).
  • Master of Arts in Literature and Culture (University of Birmingham).

Biography

After completing my BA in English Literature (2016) and MA in Literature and Culture (2018) at the University of Birmingham, I was awarded the College of Arts and Law Doctoral Scholarship. Shortly after, I began my PhD in October 2018 with Professor Hugh Adlington and Professor Peter Morey as my supervisors.

Teaching

  • Autumn 2020: Visiting Guest Lecturer on Diversity and Paradise Lost – Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form, London
  • Summer 2020, Autumn 2021: Visiting Guest Lecturer on 'Reading Milton' – University of Leicester
  • Autumn 2020: Visiting Guest Lecturer on 'Reception on Paradise Lost' – University of Salford
  • Spring 2021: Visiting Guest Lecturer on 'Teaching Paradise Lost'– King’s College London
  • September 2022 - January 2023: Seminar Tutor for 'Prose' module - University of Birmingham

Research

My thesis centres on the modern day reception of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. In particular, I focus on the encounter of British-Asian Muslim women with the Christian epic and look at how questions concerning religion, politics, gender and morality raised by Paradise Lost relate to the complex challenges facing modern British Muslimahs, in both reclaiming cultural narratives and reshaping social norms.

My research interests include: Milton and the early modern period; reception studies; gender studies; religious literature; interfaith dialogue; intersectionality; national and cultural identity politics.

Other activities

Research groups:

  • Editor and contributor of Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs)
  • Communications Officer of The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (TIMES) Post-Graduate Forum
  • Social Engagement Manager with role in Communications for the Islamic Arts and Cultural Heritage Society-
  • Member of the student-led Literary Early Modern and Medieval research group (LEMMæ)
  • Member of Network of Sisters in Academia (NeSA)
  • Member of The British Milton Seminar
  • Member of the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies (CREMS)

Research grants:

  • Awarded the College of Arts and Law Doctoral Scholarship for three years of doctoral study.

Research Papers:

  • 2019: Literary Early Modern and Medieval Research (LEMMæ), University of Birmingham, UK: ‘Milton and Modern Reception’.
  • 2020: Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs), Online: Who Speaks for History?: ‘Milton and Modern Minds’.2021: British Milton Seminar (BMS), online: ‘Milton and the Modern Muslimah: Paradise Lost and British-Asian Muslim Women Readers’.
  • 2022: Early Modern Words, Loughborough University, UK: ‘Reader Reception and Cultural Curiosity: Milton and the Modern Muslimah’.
  • 2022: European Academy of Religion (EuARe), University of Bologna, Italy: Navigating Faith Identities: Paradise Lost in UK Higher Education’