Kirsten McFerran

Kirsten McFerran is currently in the first year of her PhD in French under the supervision of Dr Claire Moran and Professor Steven Wilson. Her research topic is called 'Reading and Girlhood in Late Nineteenth-Century French Art'. Her research aims to explore how French artists represented the subject of the girl reader following the enactment of various education laws which dramatically altered young girls' access and attitude to education. Her research concentrates on Impressionist and Salon art mostly, however, she also engages with popular culture such as literature, magazines, lithographs and conduct manuals to gain a fuller understanding of societal attitudes to the new generation of educated girls. Kirsten's doctoral research is fully-funded by the Department for the Economy. 

Kirsten completed her MRes in French Studies, with distinction, in December 2024 from Queen's University Belfast. Her MRes dissertation, supervised by Dr Claire Moran, concentrated on the representation of girlhood in the works of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. 

Kirsten also received her BA in French and Spanish, with first class honours, in June 2023 from Queen's University Belfast. During her BA she also spent her third year as an Erasmus student at Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III.