English For Academic Purposes Manager/Senior Lecturer
I received my bachelor’s degree in English Linguistics and Literature from the University of Vigo in 2004 and my MA in Comparative Medieval Literature in 2006. I also obtained a Master's degree in 2006 in Teaching in Secondary Schools, Vocational Training and Language Centres.
In 2007 I left Spain and moved to Newcastle upon Tyne. Since then I have worked for several institutions and universities in the north east, including Durham University, The North East Centre for Lifelong Learning and Gosforth Academy. In 2015 I completed a PhD in English Literature with an international mention (Confronting Evil and the Monstrous ‘Other’ in Beowulf and its filmic adaptations: Understanding Heroic Action and the Limits of Knowledge).
I am also a trained teacher of Spanish in Higher Education (University of Durham, 2010). For many years I was a literature and history tutor at the Joseph Cowen Centre for Lifelong Learning in Newcastle. I have also been a visiting researcher at the Universities of Durham and Oxford.
Here at the University of Sunderland, I am currently the English For Academic Purposes Manager. In the past, I have been the Programme Leader for MA Education (on campus), and have contributed to BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing in the School of Media and Communications.
Teaching and supervision
Since I joined The University of Sunderland in 2007 I have undertaken a variety of roles in the School of Culture and have lectured across subjects. At the moment I am part of the teaching team on the following degrees:
I currently lead and/or teach a range of modules including:
- EAP313: English for Academic Purposes: Dissertation Writing
- EAP314: Discussing and Presenting Research
Supervision: I am supervising a number of PhD students in English and Education and have supervised undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations in English, MFL, and History on a great variety of topics.
I am happy to work with prospective research students who wish to do research that relates to one or more of my areas of expertise.
Research interests for potential research students
I approach research from a multidisciplinary perspective. Specialising in the early medieval period and its adaptations in the context of the modern world, I look at the Old English literary corpus and aim to work on translations of the most significant texts into modern languages (eg Spanish and Galician). I am also interested in critical thinking and academic writing skills.
As someone who contributes to different teams across two faculties, I have conducted research on Early Medieval Literature and History, translation studies, and the work of J.L. Borges and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Research
My research interests include the translation of medieval texts, Old English language and literature, historical linguistics, the work of J.L. Borges and J.R.R. Tolkien, critical thinking in education, comparative literature and the study of cinematic adaptations of medieval texts.
Publications
Article
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2020) Borges, Solomon and Saturn: Un diálogo anglosajón del siglo XI (1961). The Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature, 25 (1). pp. 37-60. ISSN 1132-631X
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2016) ‘A review of Tolkien’s The Story of Kullervo.’ The Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature, Autumn 2016, vol. 21. The Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature, 21. pp. 207-210. ISSN 1132-631X
Book Section
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2020) “A Triangular Affair”: Oddities, Readability and Excitement in the Translation of the Old English Elegies into Spanish. In: Literature, Science & Religion Textual Transmission and Translation in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Problemata Literaria (88). Edition Reichenberger, 235 -256. ISBN 9783967280036
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2018) Landscapes of Evil and the Narrative Pattern in Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxon Hero's Journey through the Labyrinth. In: Textual Reception and Cultural Debate in Medieval English Studies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, pp. 129-154. ISBN 9781527506527
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2012) From lofgeornost to the most eager for sex: 30 years of Beowulfian monsters on screen (1981-2011)in Weaving New perspectives together. Some reflections on literary studies. Edited by María Alonso Alonso, Jeannette Bello Mota, Alba de Béjar Muíños and Laura Torrado Mariñas. In: Weaving New perspectives together. Some reflections on literary studies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, pp. 36-57. ISBN 978-1-4438-3911-2
Book
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2019) ‘Elegías Anglosajonas’: A translation of the Old English Elegies into Spanish. La Oficina de Arte y Ediciones. ISBN 9788494971440
Thesis
Gomes Gargamala, Miguel (2015) ‘Confronting Evil and the monstrous “other” in Beowulf and its filmic adaptations: Understanding heroic action and the limits of knowledge.’. Post-Doctoral thesis, University of Vigo.
- Old English literature
- Translation studies (translation of literature)
- Critical thinking
- Academic writing
- Spanish culture, language and literature
- Medieval history and literature
- Fantasy literature: J.R.R. Tolkien, J.L. Borges