Dr Joanne Sear

Jo lectures in local history for the Institute with a particular emphasis on the late medieval period.  She has taught on the 'Introduction to Local History' and 'World of Material Goods' courses for the certificate as well as presenting 'Medieval Towns' at the diploma level and 'Manors' for the M.St.

Jo is currently engaged in writing two books: one on consumption and the consumer revolution in conjunction with Dr Ken Sneath of the Institute; and a volume for the Suffolk Records Society on the manorial records of late medieval Newmarket which she is co-authoring with Dr James Davis of Queen's University, Belfast.

She likes to combine a range of approaches and media when presenting and makes particular use of handouts and visual images (which are always subsequently available on the VLE).  She also makes use of field trips so that students can relate the topics explored in class to the local environment.

She encourages students to ask questions and to debate and always welcomes input and observations.  In addition, she is keen to encourage and facilitate students in undertaking their own research and tries hard to identify websites, online tutorials, etc. which can be easily accessed and explored.