Jeanne Dufresne

Research

My project explores the life and representations of poor itinerant women – sometimes called vagrant – in early modern England and France. I am interested in how these women became vagrants and lived their itinerancy, as well as how they interacted with their own society. If we often think of such women as living outside of the settled community and/or being actively rejected from it, their exclusion was rarely so complete. I therefore hope to explore the notion of belonging through the experience of these marginalised women, investigating how they lived as well as what laws, customs or beliefs impacted their lives.

I am supervised by Professor Beat KüminLink opens in a new window, Doctor Angela McShaneLink opens in a new window and Professor Penny RobertsLink opens in a new window; and my project is funded by the Chancellor’s International Scholarship.

My research interests include, but are not limited to, social history, the early modern world and the history of margins.