St Edward's Academic Review 2025

ACADEMIC REVI EW ISSUE 3 | 2025

ST EDWARD’S, OXFORD

1 To what extent is there a

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To what extent was Finnish guerilla warfare the main reason for Finnish success in avoiding full occupation in the Russo Finnish Winter War of 1939–40? By Daniel Shuter

relationship between dyslexia and artistic creativity? By Evie McGill

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Is Beowulf a Christian or a Pagan Poem? By Merlin K

Henry Moore, Headless Animal, (1960) Bronze By Liberty Bowden

3 Racial Injustice in the American Criminal System By Savannah Orchard 4 Exploring the Use of Peer and Self-Assessment as a Pedagogical Tool in UK Secondary Design Education By Andrew Halliwell, Head of Design Technology

To what extent is data mining effective in predicting natural disasters? By Carissa Moses-Saromi

The Impact of Physical Attributes on Adolescent

Rowing Performance By Sianna Featherstone

Lola Johnstone

Betty Li

Blade Sharman

Mia Verano Luri

Agatha Pearman

Saskia Davies

Tana Keith

Nadia Baloni

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INTRODUCTION Welcome to the third edition of the Academic Review, our annual showcase and celebration of the School’s academic culture. This publication brings together the best essays written by our pupils and their teachers over the course of the year. We hope to instil in our pupils a genuine love of learning – our aim is for them to become scholars in the broadest sense of the word. Learning should not be seen as a chore, not solely a route to success in the next examination or the latest piece of coursework. We want pupils at St Edward’s to see learning as an integral part of their journey to perspective and understanding of the world around them, as the inspiration of intellectual curiosity and the means for its fulfilment. Learning is a lifelong pursuit, both collaborative and deeply personal. Our teachers lead by example, often pursuing their personal academic work alongside their teaching, allowing our pupils to benefit from their individual specialisms and passions. They teach our pupils how to read texts, how to question ideas, how to build connections between the different areas of their knowledge. We are uniquely positioned in this university city to have access to academics who are at the forefront of modern research but who are working within a tradition of teaching and learning with centuries of history. The Super-Curriculum at Teddies allows our pupils to benefit from lectures by eminent professors and visits to the colleges, museums and faculties of Oxford on a weekly basis. There is no way to quantify the value of those opportunities for our pupils to experience and to witness true scholarship. To hear first-hand from those who have dedicated their lives to research in a particular field, driven by a love of subject, is remarkable. I look forward each year to reading the Academic Review, not least because it reflects the diverse enthusiasms of our school community. Read on to learn whether Beowulf should be considered a Christian or a pagan poem, how height affects performance in rowing, to what extent Finnish guerilla warfare helped prevent full occupation in the Russo-Finnish Winter War, and much more. These essays are interspersed with pieces which have been created in our Art Department over the year. The skills and techniques our pupils learn in Art and Design are another lens through which pupils at Teddies view and make sense of our world. I hope that you enjoy this edition and that you will join me in looking forward to the next.

Alastair Chirnside, Warden

The third edition of the Academic Review is the pinnacle of research, writing and art produced over the last academic year at Teddies. With thousands of pieces of extended writing and coursework written every year, the selection process has been rigorous and riddled with difficult decisions. I am grateful to the authors of this Academic Review, and I congratulate them on their achievement of having their work published.

Charles Wallendahl, Director of Teaching and Learning

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To what extent is there a relationship between dyslexia and artistic creativity? Investigating the evidence for increased artistic creativity in dyslexics, and the biological and societal factors which shape their creativity. By Evie McGill Dyslexics have traits which are seen as an impairment of lexical ability, however these challenges are often accompanied with an increase in creativity​(Eide & Eide, 2012)​, potentially as a result of a different way of perceiving the world, creating opportunity to produce art from an alternative set of stimuli. This advantage has been hypothesised to stem from the differences in how dyslexics physically see art, how they process art neurologically, and even how they work from a creative perspective, taking in information from many different sources to construct new concepts ​(Ward & Kapoula, 2022)​. The thesis of this essay is that in addition to a decreased lexical ability, dyslexics are advantaged in creative and artistic ability and provide a critical service to society, driving innovation, creating, and exploring new concepts. Furthermore, I argue that dyslexia has been a driving force in artistic creativity for hundreds of years. This essay will explore the relationship between dyslexia and creativity. Specifically, whether one drives, or is in any way influenced by, the other. It will explore whether dyslexia is associated with an increase in artistic and creative ability, or whether many artists choose a creative path because their dyslexia has driven them to negatively select against following more “academic” pathways and careers. It will investigate and explore the evidence supporting a creative advantage in dyslexic individuals and will assess the biological basis of the scientific observations. Furthermore, it will explore how dyslexia may have influenced the creativity of some of the world’s most highly respected artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, and how contemporary artists view their relationship with dyslexia and its impact on their creative pursuits.

Introduction

ACADEMIC REVIEW 2025

The biological theories of dyslexia

a clear image. Interestingly it has been demonstrated that in dyslexics, there is a magnocellular deficit which is compensated by a stronger parvocellular system, resulting in a lower ability to see larger and faster moving objects, but an improved ability to appreciate detail and colour. Dyslexics may therefore have an ability to acquire more detail from a source which is essential when translating an idea to a canvas, but they would struggle with constantly changing their visual frame when reading. It’s important to note that this theory is disputed, as not all individuals with a magnocellular deficit have dyslexia. However, most dyslexics do have a magnocellular deficit, suggesting it has a role to play. Research shows that dyslexia is multifactorial in nature, and many components of biology are involved. A key feature of dyslexia is a reduced ability to track lines of text whilst reading. Interestingly, Ward and Kapoula (2022) noted that dyslexic children frequently have challenged binocular vision. There can be many causes, but often it is related to a strabismus, or poor ocular neural connectivity. The resulting miscoordination of eye movement in these individuals can limit the ability to focus on the written word, causing tracking difficulties. These challenges can result in a difference in how an individual might perceive the world. Relating these observations to all dyslexics, the authors hypothesise that dyslexics constantly shift visual focus, which presents a challenge when reading, but allows dyslexics to absorb a greater range of stimuli. They also hypothesise that this facilitates a high level of connectivity between those stimuli, potentially resulting in enhanced artistic creativity. Their observations underline an important association between dyslexia and altered visual perception. Another biological difference in dyslexic brains relates to a ‘right brain skew.’ The two hemispheres of the brain have different roles in vision. The left hemisphere specialises in fine detail processing and carefully examines the fine detail of objects, whereas the right hemisphere specialises in processing the large scale, overall image and is especially effective in spotting connections that tie objects and ideas together. For example, the left brain is good at recognising a mouth, ears, or eyes, but the right brain is used to stitch those individual objects together to recognise a specific face (Eide & Eide, 2012). This ‘right brain skew’ was demonstrated by a group led by Shaywitz, Professor in Learning Development at Yale University, who used a technique called functional magnetic resonance

Dyslexia is a common condition found in children and adults which affects around 10% of the population, with 4% being severely affected (Bacon & Bennett, 2013). As a condition, dyslexia was first identified by Oswald Berkhan in 1881 and later named by Rudolf Berlin, an ophthalmologist, in 1887 (Chakravarty, 2009). Often thought of and written about as a learning disability, it is neurobiological in nature and manifests with overall deficits and speed deficits in lexical ability. It is also associated with poor auditory processing which adds a significant burden to acquiring and synthesising knowledge (Majeed, Hartanto, & Tan, 2021) (Taylor & Verstergaard, 2022). In 1968 the World Federation of Neurology defined dyslexia as, ‘A disorder in children (and adults) who despite conventional classroom experience fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing and spelling commensurate with their intellectual abilities’ (Taylor & Verstergaard, 2022). This is potentially an over-simplistic description of a complex condition, and one which may fail to assess whether the condition is accompanied by strengths in addition to challenges. Dyslexia is a multifactorial condition which manifests differently in every individual. Understanding the biological basis for dyslexia is important to assess how, in addition to certain challenges, it might be associated with specific benefits. There are several theories which potentially link dyslexia to creativity. The first hypothesises that there is a disequilibrium between the two main cell types involved in vision – the magnocellular and parvocellular neurones. These two cell types work together to coordinate the mechanics of vision when reading. If the eye accidentally moves the focus of vision off the fovea, then the magnocellular system helps correct the vision, moving the focus back to the fovea, restoring

‘ Dyslexia is a multifactorial condition which

manifests differently in every individual ’

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In summary, the biological mechanisms of dyslexia, from the neurons and brain architecture of dyslexics, to the physical and mechanical properties of their visual systems, do seem to support a potential for increased creative and artistic abilities.

imaging to demonstrate that the dyslexic brain constantly uses more right brain structures when processing imagery (Shaywitz, Mody, & Shaywitz, 2006). This could demonstrate that dyslexics see a more detailed and holistic image in comparison to non-dyslexics. Interestingly, data shows that the brains of dyslexic children are symmetrical between the dominant left side and the non-dominant right side, the right side being more pivotal in artistic creativity (Chakravarty, 2009). This is further supported by the fact that when brain injury occurs in the left brain parietal lobe, an increase in overall creativity can frequently be seen, and there are even reports of individuals acquiring musical talents that they have not previously possessed (Mernin, 2020). In this situation, it is hypothesised that the dominant left brain has an inhibitory effect on the more creative right brain. When the damage occurs, that inhibition is removed and creativity is allowed to flow. This understanding of neurobiology potentially helps explain why dyslexic individuals may be more artistically creative – it is linked to the biology of their symmetrical brain. Building on this observation, Matthew Schneps (2014), an astrophysicist with dyslexia, has shown that when illiterate adults learn to read, the process of learning to read may in fact override certain visual and creative abilities that dyslexic individuals have due to their lexical challenges. He argues that dyslexics show trends related to ‘out of the box’ thinking which can be advantageous in many fields including art, maths and science. He also suggests that learning to read, which is a comparatively modern development in human evolution, actually shuts off certain cognitive processes and standardises an individual’s cognitive processes. The lack of lexical abilities therefore could be an advantage in preserving artistic creativity. Finally, in assessing the biology of dyslexia, it is important to explore any potential genetic link with the condition. It has been demonstrated that there is no simple genetic causative factor for dyslexia as it is polygenic in nature, despite the fact that it does run in families – a fact which has been clearly shown across studies of dyslexic twins, showing an inheritability of at least 60% (Paracchini, Diaz, & Stein, 2016). Therefore, along with creativity, intelligence and other cognitive skills, dyslexia has genetic linkages, but is also highly dependent upon the environment.

Assessing creativity benefits in studies

To investigate whether there is an increase in artistic creativity in the dyslexic population, the scientific community first had to consider what the definition of artistic creativity might be, and how to measure it. Creativity has been defined as, ‘The ability to produce work that is both original (new, unusual, novel, unexpected) and valuable (useful, good, adaptive, appropriate)’ (Ward & Kapoula, 2022). When considering creativity, it is generally believed that there is no such thing as a completely new idea and, in fact, creativity comes from combining pre existing ideas (also known as convergent thinking), or by breaking apart previously held ideas into new concepts (known as divergent thinking). Creativity has been measured in prospective trials using various tools. The most common tool is the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), first developed in 1974. In this test, simple testing methods are used to assess divergent thinking. Specifically, the test uses verbal and non-verbal stimuli to assess ‘fluency’ (the total number of understandable, meaningful and relevant ideas generated as a response to the stimulus), ‘flexibility’ (the number of different categories of relevant ideas generated), ‘originality’ (the uniqueness and rarity of the ideas), and ‘elaboration’ (the amount of detail contained in the response – iteration on the theme). This test has been validated over many thousands of subjects and has had follow-up of groups of individuals lasting up to 50 years, demonstrating the robustness of the test. Cancer et al used this tool in their 2016 research article where they assessed the link between creativity and dyslexia – this will be covered in the next section (Cancer, Monzoli, & Aontonetti, 2016). Assessing the evidence of a dyslexia creativity link This section will assess the evidence for and against there being a relationship between dyslexia and the trait of artistic creativity. It will commence with a review of the best pieces of original research in the field, followed by a review of the large-scale

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intelligence. Interestingly, there was no connection between general IQ and enhanced creativity, showing that the increased ability to connect concepts was not linked to IQ. However, there was a negative correlation between reading speed and the enhanced connecting domain of the WCR test of creativity, showing that increased lexical challenges are associated with an increased ability to connect concepts. These findings link with the first test study and set up the observation that dyslexia may increase the ability to ‘create’ through connecting ideas, but that advantage is unavoidably associated with the negative impact on reading speed and lexical abilities. This aligns with the biological insights from Schneps above – that learning to read may shut off certain cognitive processes involved in creativity, and that the lack of lexical abilities seen in dyslexia is associated with an advantage in creativity. The next article of interest was produced by El Hmimmdi et al. in 2022. Their study assessed whether anything in the neurobiology of dyslexic individuals might impact how an individual perceives art. It had already been demonstrated that the eye movement of dyslexics was different to non-dyslexics during reading (Ward & Kapoula, 2021), but it was unclear as to whether the same phenomenon occurred when viewing art. In this study, dyslexics and non-dyslexics were shown Op-art works, and conceptual artworks, and their eye movements were recorded using advanced technology. Op-art works such as Riley’s Movements in Squares and Escher’s Relativité cause visual disturbances and influence the viewer to perceive movement and depth, and conceptual art such as that by Magritte and Escher, contains multiple hidden spaces, or requires a reading of the picture to understand its meaning. El Hmimmdi’s study demonstrated that even when viewing art, dyslexic individuals’ eyes move differently. They hypothesised that the microscopic eye movements and fixation instability contribute to a heightened sense of the motion when viewing the Op-art images. The authors also state that the association between these abnormal eye movements when viewing art can be used prospectively as a diagnosis of dyslexia with an accuracy of diagnosis of over 90% (El Hmimmdi, Ward, Palpanas, Sainte Fare Garnot, & Kapoula, 2022). These findings reinforce the concept that dyslexics are more artistically creative because they view the world around them in a different way to non-dyslexics. Building on the above observations, Ward and Kapoula conducted a study which combined the assessments of visual abnormalities and creativity

meta-analyses conducted in the field. Finally, it will assess the most recent thought-based articles, which demonstrate where the field of dyslexia research is currently heading.

Original research

In 2016, Alice Cancer et al. investigated the relationship between dyslexia and creativity, publishing the findings of two studies in the Cogent Psychology journal. The first study applied the WCR test of creativity (similar to the TTCT test), which tests the ability to ‘widen,’ ‘connect’, and ‘reorganise’ concepts. To assess the linkage between creativity and dyslexia, they recruited, fifty-two high school students, nineteen of whom had been diagnosed with dyslexia (plus thirty-three as a control group) and administered the WCR test. In the results of this first experiment, the ‘connecting domain’ showed a statistically significant difference in favour of the dyslexic students, and it was seen in over half of the children, making it a robust observation. This indicates that dyslexic individuals may be more effective in combining ideas to create new, original thoughts or imagery compared to their non-dyslexic counterparts. Their second study in this paper helps to cement the findings above. In this study, a subset of the previous cohort of students were subjected to tests which assessed a relationship between reading ability, IQ scores and WCR scores – exploring the relationship between their enhanced ability to connect ideas or concepts and their ability to read to their level of ‘ Dyslexic individuals may be more effective in combining ideas to create new, original thoughts or imagery compared to their non dyslexic counterparts ’

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creativity of dyslexics compared with non-dyslexics, and that this difference is more pronounced in females than in males. Interestingly, the observation related to age, raises the question as to whether the enhanced creativity is an advantage which is learned through life, rather than being innate – through dyslexic individuals exposing themselves to more creative jobs and pastimes, effectively increasing their creative abilities through practice and honing their talents. Importantly, this association should be treated with significant caveats – the level of statistical robustness of this observation is relatively low, as under more robust statistical testing (regression analysis), the positive associations did not stand up – potentially because there are still too few subjects in the subset. The second meta-analysis considered was published by Majeed, Hartanto and Tan in 2021. Again, this article compiled data from a number of sources (nine, with data from over 850 participants). This analysis tested various domains of creativity and observed no significant benefit across the whole dyslexic population. However, they did find that dyslexic adults (as opposed to adolescents or children) demonstrated an enhanced creativity benefit in terms of fluency (the number of ideas), and flexibility (the number of categories of ideas) associated with their dyslexic status – a similar finding to Erbeli. Overall, therefore, the two meta-analyses only found limited support for the idea that individuals with dyslexia are more creative, with this benefit being seen more convincingly in adult subjects (compared to children), and females (compared to males). These findings need to be appropriately framed however. Meta-analyses have power in demonstrating a robust positive correlation (i.e. proving an association is real), but they have a poor negative predictive power (i.e. they are poor at disproving theories) (Haidich, 2010). Finally, when considered that the most recent and robust prospective trials in the field have shown a benefit and were published after the meta-analysis and therefore were not included, there does appear to be grounds for a link between dyslexia and creativity.

in dyslexics. The study asked the basic question, ‘Do dyslexic individuals view art differently and does that link to or drive a creative advantage?’ The research used Magritte’s contradictory paintings, which juxtapose pictorial and verbal imagery. These paintings require processing and thought to fully understand their messages. Ward and Kapoula hypothesised that the paintings might expose differences between dyslexic and non-dyslexic viewing and comprehending of art. They used sophisticated eye tracking technology to understand the differences in how the art was being viewed. The study demonstrated that dyslexics show higher creativity in two domains of creativity – fluidity and flexibility. In fact, for all three paintings tested, dyslexic individuals showed a higher degree of eye movement to the left and right, a similar abnormal pattern of movement which is seen when dyslexics read a passage of text, and similar to the observed visual challenges which El Hmimmdi observed in his trial. To summarize, most of these recent studies do suggest clear links between dyslexia and an increase in creativity. Furthermore, they demonstrate that creativity may be linked to an increase in the ability of the dyslexic brain to find associations between images and ideas, aiding the creative process. The data indicates that dyslexics may perceive the visual world in an enhanced manner, which may provide more ‘fuel’ for their enhanced creative talent. However, one important factor to take into account is that the number of participants enrolled in each of the trials reviewed in this section was relatively small, meaning that the statistical significance of the results could be called into question. In an attempt to overcome the limitations associated with relatively small sample sizes in most dyslexia trials, several investigators have produced meta analyses of the available data. Whilst meta-analyses lack precision in their findings, where they do see a benefit or disadvantage associated with dyslexia, the indication is that the relationship is likely to be a real finding and have statistical significance (Haidich, 2010). The first meta-analysis considered was performed by Erbeli, Peng and Rice in 2021. This analysis combines results from 20 trials, with over 770 dyslexic participants and 1,600 non-dyslexic controls. The analysis fails to demonstrate an overarching creative benefit in dyslexia. It does, however, show that in adulthood there is a potential increase in the Meta-analyses

Opinion-based research evidence

Another group of articles that can be considered, are those which are more opinion-based, and draw conclusions from previous research. The first of these is Schneps (2014), who proposes that,

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Dyslexic artists and the influence of external factors on the choice to study art Having assessed the impact of ‘nature’ on dyslexia – genetic linkages, frequency of the condition, and biological mechanisms – this section will assess the impact of ‘nurture’ (the environment and influences an individual is surrounded by) through analysing the choices that dyslexic students have made to study art and design. It will explore the external factors which may lead dyslexic individuals to study creative subjects at higher levels and understand whether they are over-represented in creative courses of study and, if so, why. It will also investigate the dyslexic influence on artists, both lesser-known contemporary artists and well-known and respected artists such as Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. Dyslexic students are increasingly seen studying visual and creative art subjects in higher education, and whilst dyslexia may be associated with artistic talent and creative benefits, there may be other external factors which may affect a dyslexic student’s choice to study art. There are three key drivers in the choice to study art: influence of school and family, dyslexia as a strength, and having a passion for art (Bacon & Bennett, 2013). Bacon and Bennett assessed the decisions of 13 dyslexic students to study art. Eight of the students stated they had chosen to study art due to their strong talent and interest in the subject, however the others thought they weren’t good enough at more “academic” subjects and felt that their dyslexia had pushed them away from those subjects. Furthermore, all of the participants they interviewed spoke about how the attitudes of other people when they were younger, whether it be teachers,

‘impairments in one area can lead to advantages in other areas’. He goes on to argue that dyslexics show trends related to ‘out of the box thinking’ which can be advantageous in science, creative pursuits and, of course, art. Schneps pieces together evidence from a broad range of areas, pointing out that the potential benefit of dyslexia is broader than simply artistic creativity, that in fact, dyslexics are able to distribute their attention across a broader range of stimuli than non-dyslexics. This links compellingly with the fact that dyslexics are expert in connecting stimuli to create new ideas and concepts (Cancer, Monzoli, & Aontonetti, 2016). He proposes that this benefit also extends to the auditory setting, where dyslexics are able to receive information from more sources simultaneously than non-dyslexics. Whilst this may present challenges in terms of concentration power, it does allow dyslexics to expose themselves to a greater array of creative stimuli. The most exciting conceptual piece of research in the field was published by Taylor and Vestergaard in 2022. They introduce the concept that dyslexia is not a deficit or disorder, but instead an advantage which allows us to adapt and evolve as a species. They propose that humans demonstrate a ‘trade off between exploration and exploitation’, in that non-dyslexics specialise in the power of focus, enabling them to mine (exploit) a resource efficiently, whereas dyslexics specialise in ‘exploration’ enabling them to explore new fields, geographic areas, or concepts (artistic, scientific, mathematical etc). In this context, ‘explorative search’ can be thought of as being analogous to ‘creativity’. Therefore, they postulate that dyslexic individuals are experts in ‘explorative search’. Their concept aligns strongly with the research cited above by El Hmimmdi and Ward. 2022.

‘ Dyslexic students are increasingly seen studying visual and creative art subjects in higher education ’

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To summarize, the higher education choices dyslexics make are informed by three forces – avoidance of more “academic” subjects, a societal expectation of increased creative ability, and the positive feedback which comes through practice of creative skills which leads to creative success. This shows the significant impact that the environment dyslexics grow up in has on their choices and pathways in life – the effects of nurture. After considering the evidence put forward by contemporary artists and art students (Bacon & Bennett, 2013), it is interesting to explore the relationship between dyslexia and artistic creativity by looking at some of the world’s most innovative artists. There are, unsurprisingly, some well known artists who were dyslexic, for example Andy Warhol, Auguste Rodin, and Pablo Picasso (Alexander-Passe, 2013). It has been hypothesized that Picasso’s dyslexia may have provided him with an alternate way of viewing the world, opening the door for him to create Cubism, an art form where the subject is visualised simultaneously from many different perspectives (Artlyst, 2011). This aligns with the data from El Hmimmdi (2022), where the eyes of dyslexic individuals were shown to move differently to non-dyslexics, suggesting that dyslexics view the world around them in a different way to non-dyslexics. Picasso was the first artist to profoundly abstract objects and portraits, incorporating multiple perspectives, exaggerating, and enhancing the shapes which he viewed in the world around him – especially evident in his works Violin and Grapes and Weeping Woman . Leonardo da Vinci, who it is hypothesized was a dyslexic artist, is often regarded as the single most creative and inventive artist. A true polymath, he displayed creative genius in painting, engineering, and architecture. He is renowned for having invented the parachute, the first helicopter, and the first tank among many other visionary creations. The evidence for his dyslexia relates to the fact that analysis of his self-portraits demonstrates that he had a strabismus (a visual abnormality that results in 2D rather than 3D vision), which can help with the observation of 3D objects and their translation into a work of art. There is evidence that he was a terrible speller, and many of his written works show him flipping letters and writing entire paragraphs in mirror form (Tyler, 2018) – known symptoms of dyslexia. It is The dyslexic influence on artistic genius

other students, or family members, affected their choice of subject at degree level. The quotes from students within the research group are very revealing about how their choices were shaped by their own strengths and by their outside influences. For example, one student in the study, expressed the negative influence of teachers at school: ‘Rather than seeing me struggling, I think they saw it as me not engaging… I think the teachers thought I was lazy.’ This negative attitude towards young dyslexic pupils lowers self-esteem and motivation which drives doubt and a lack of confidence and ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy with pupils expecting to fail and being deterred from studying more “academic” subjects. However, positive influence from family may encourage studying artistic subjects. For example, another student said that ‘I was always doing something creative […]. My dad thought it was great and always said I should go to art college.’ The view that society has of dyslexics may also be a factor that pushes people away from “academic” subjects. One interviewee said ‘They expect you to be arty, no one expects you to be able to do other things’, and another said, ‘It’s just the trap you fall into’. However, students also felt that their dyslexia might, in fact, have been a real strength in their artistic pursuits. In the article, one student is quoted as saying, ‘It gives me a never-ending flow of ideas […] you’ve got more choice of ideas’ and ‘I’m always thinking out of the box’. These statements illustrate the powerful connection between dyslexia and artistic creativity from the perspective of art students who deal with the many impacts of dyslexia. These first-hand testimonies suggest that one of the reasons for dyslexics following a creative pathway in life might be the negative attitudes directed towards dyslexic students and the challenging experiences that they have at an early age in more “academic” subjects. Given that backdrop, it is unsurprising that many students would want to avoid the societal stigma that their dyslexia gives them, such as being thought of as stupid and lazy, and instead choose to study a creative subject like art where they are given positive feedback and praised for their work, making their learning experience more enjoyable. This positive feedback loop will result in more practice and eventual honing of their skill, making them more talented in that area and being successful (Eide & Eide, 2012).

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argues that only traits which are useful are retained throughout the generations – they provide a species with a competitive advantage (Darwin, 1858). Given that dyslexia has existed for over 1,000 years, fuelling the creativity of some of history’s most important artists, dyslexia must have been preserved as a human trait simply because it has value to society and does provide a competitive advantage, rather than because it has been a constant flaw (Taylor & Verstergaard, 2022). So, what is the value of dyslexia to society? Helen Taylor, a psychology researcher at Strathclyde University, draws a parallel with nature where to be successful animals need to exploit their local environment for food, as well as to explore other areas for new sources of food. She argues that non dyslexics are expert in exploiting ideas, mining them in an automated way, but that dyslexics are expert in exploration, constantly changing their stimuli and exploring new concepts (Taylor & Verstergaard, 2022). The human race needs both of these profiles to thrive. If, indeed dyslexia is pivotal to our exploration as a species, and our exploration of the artistic world, it might be time to re-name dyslexia. Instead of focusing on the lexical challenge to describe this critical and valuable human trait, a name focused on expertise in search, creation and innovation may be more appropriate. As a dyslexic individual who has chosen to study creative pathways and experienced many of the challenges of living with a negative "brand", I certainly appreciate the importance of re framing the value which these innovative and creative brains can bring to the world.

fascinating that the most creative polymath of all time was dyslexic, giving credence to the concept that for some individuals dyslexia may in effect be a “superpower” (Mangione & Del Maestro, 2019).

Conclusion

The evidence of a relationship between dyslexia and artistic creativity is very compelling but not absolute. The most recent research in the field shows that dyslexics possess an ability to take in more stimuli from a visual source, and to connect those stimuli due to abnormal eye movements. Whilst reading, these microscopic, jerky eye movements cause the reading difficulties that dyslexics experience, but they also allow for more connections between components of an image, allowing dyslexics superior ability in connecting ideas (convergent thinking) – fuelling their creative talent. Furthermore, there is a clear biological underpinning of these findings. Dyslexics have been shown to have a magnocellular deficit, conferring an ability to take in more fine detail than non-dyslexics, additionally allowing them to perceive an enhanced sense of colour, potentially meaning that dyslexics see the world differently. Additionally, dyslexia is an inheritable trait, albeit through a web of genes rather than a single gene. This inheritability implies that it has been part of the human race for millennia. If dyslexia is inheritable and the trait of dyslexia is indeed a valuable creative diving force for the human race, it is interesting to think about reframing the condition. Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species

‘ If dyslexia is inheritable and the trait of dyslexia is indeed a valuable creative diving force for the human race, it is interesting to think about reframing the condition ’

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Is Beowulf a Christian or a Pagan Poem? By Merlin K

Introduction

Beowulf is one of the most important poems in the English language, written in Old English and preserved in a manuscript which is dated to c. AD 1000. It is generally agreed that the unknown poet composed it earlier, most probably in the 8th century – though there is some difference of opinion among scholars about the exact time of composition. The action of the poem is set in Scandinavia, sometime in the 4th to 6th centuries – but again there is some scholarly debate about this. The poem tells the story of the eponymous hero Beowulf who hears of the terrible suffering of the Danes after their King Hrothgar finds his mead hall is under violent attack by a dreadful monster, Grendel. Beowulf sails off with his men to give assistance to King Hrothgar and manages to defeat Grendel, not knowing that Grendel’s mother will come for her revenge following the death of her son. After Grendel’s mother attacks Hrothgar’s hall, Beowulf traces her to an underwater lair, and – seizing a vast sword from a corner of the cave (a sword so heavy that no mortal man can wield it) – he slays Grendel’s mother with the sword. It is a fascinating story, beautifully told in the Anglo-Saxon style, with the use of kennings, metaphorical compound terms, created to fit the alliterative mode, such as seġl-rād (sail-road) or hron-rād (whale-road) both meaning ‘ocean’. The poem is 3,182 lines long and has been much interpreted, discussed, and translated over the centuries since its composition.

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that is additions into a pagan poem, deliberately placed by a monastic scribe as they copied out an original pagan text, in an attempt to make the poem more of a “Christian paper” than the original “pagan paper”? Was Beowulf therefore once an entirely “pagan paper” which contained no reference to the Christian perspective at all? Or was the poem always a hybrid work, written during the transition period from paganism to Christianity in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and representing this hybrid state of affairs in its composition. In this interpretation Beowulf would be a “pagan-Christian paper”. Or there is another possibility, that Beowulf is a fundamentally Christian work, written when Christianity was fully established in Britain, but written by a Christian author looking back, with some appreciation and interest, at the pagan world of former centuries in Scandinavia. In that case, Beowulf is a “Christian paper” but one that is sympathetic to, or inspired by, the previous pagan culture in the Anglo-Saxon world. In order to understand the nature of this debate in more depth, I will look initially at the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to Christianity. The advent of Christianity in Britain is often associated with the arrival of St Augustine’s mission from Rome in AD 597. However, the influence of Christianity had been present in Britain during Roman times, even as early as the 4th century AD. Roman inscriptions have been found in Britain and there are 5th-century cemeteries containing Christian invocations. The arrival of the Anglo Saxons to Britain, dated to AD 449 by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (written c. AD 731) introduced a powerful pagan influence and perspective to the island. The Anglo Saxons worshipped pagan gods that were also commemorated in the Norse sagas, such as Tiw (also known as Tyr), Woden, Thor, the thunder god, and the fertility goddess Frey. In the 6th century – AD 597 as attested by Bede – Pope Gregory the Great sent his missionaries to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, most notably St Augustine. At the time of Augustine’s arrival, England was divided into mutually acrimonious kingdoms, led by powerful regional kings. Augustine began his mission by converting King Æthelberht of Kent. In c. 598 the abbey of St Peter and Paul (later rededicated to St Augustine) was founded in Canterbury, and Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. The overall conversion of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms was not entirely linear and, for example, Kent was sometimes ruled by pagan not

One of the key discussions concerning Beowulf is the question of whether it is a “pagan paper” or a “Christian paper”, or some combination of both. The action of Beowulf takes place in a pre-Christian environment of 4th–6th century Scandinavia, and yet the poem itself contains references to a Christian worldview, and pays repeated homage to God, though as Professor Rory Naismith has pointed out, the divine names are never capitalised. Passages containing references to an apparently Christian god include this one: þæt wæs wundra sum, þæt hit eal gemealt, ise gelicost, ðonne forstes bend fæder onlæteð, onwindeð wælrapas, se geweald hafað sæla ond mæla; þæt is soð metod. (That was a great wonder that it all melted, most like ice when the bonds of frost the father loosens, unwinds water-ropes, he who has control of times and seasons; that is the true creator.) This section presents a single god, controlling the elements, melting the ice and the bonds of frost. This deity seems akin to the Christian God. Are such Christian elements of Beowulf interpolations, ‘ The Anglo-Saxons worshipped pagan gods that were also commemorated in the Norse sagas, such as Tiw (also known as Tyr), Woden, Thor, the thunder god, and the fertility goddess Frey ’ Beowulf ll 1607–11

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the more “dialogic process” of conversion? Or is it a text that represents a Christian culture that was sufficiently secure that pagan elements could be memorialised in imaginative works? Readings of the poem depend on how we understand and interpret the changes – whether discursive or coerced – to the perception of reality and worldview of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Having established something of this background of conversion in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, I will now turn to Beowulf and discuss some of the arguments around whether it was a “pagan paper”, or a “pagan Christian paper,” or a “Christian paper.” A key text in this discussion is The Monsters and the Critics – originally given as a lecture by J R R Tolkien in 1936. Tolkien disagreed with those critics of Beowulf who castigated the poem for being ‘something that it was not – for example, primitive, pagan, Teutonic’. For Tolkien, far too many critics had diminished Beowulf as: a half-baked native epic […] the confused product of a committee of muddleheaded and probably beer-bemused Anglo-Saxons […] a string of pagan lays edited by monks. Among these critics, writes Tolkien, was W P Ker, who wrote a book called The Dark Ages (1904). Ker dismissed the poem as “too simple”, a tale of monsters and a hero aiming to slay them; a “merest commonplace of heroic legend” and nothing else. Tolkien also cites a companion argument in Professor R W Chambers’s Beowulf and the Heroic Age (1925). Chambers argues that the trivial aspects of the story are placed at the centre of the poem, and elements of wild folk tale have ‘usurp[ed] the place of honour, and [driven] into episodes and digressions the things which should be the stuff of well-conducted epic’. Tolkien disagrees greatly with these critics who find the poem “simple,” “primitive” and “silly” – as he puts it. He argues for the poem as deeply philosophical and expressive, quoting such lines as ‘lif is læne: eal scæceð leoht and lif somod’ (life is fleeting, all departs, light and life together). This line also evokes Bede’s account of the advisor to King Edwin describing life as akin to a sparrow arriving briefly into the warm, lighted mead hall and then vanishing into darkness forever. Such lines, therefore, indicate a pagan aspect to the poem. Christianity, after all, would suggest that Jesus is Life and Light, and offers redemption, lighting the way to Heaven. But Tolkien does not think that these pagan elements are simple, nor primitive, and does not think they are entirely incompatible with the Christian aspects of the poem.

Christian kings in the ensuing generations. However, the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms can be considered roughly complete by the end of the 7th century, with the death of the last pagan king – Aruald of the Isle of Wight. In Early Medieval Britain, c. 500–1000 , Professor Rory Naismith argues that ‘importantly, the new religion was also defined negatively, as the abandonment of key practices of previous beliefs: a baptismal formula, coming from Germany but probably reflecting Anglo-Saxon influence, required the new initiate to foreswear ‘the devil,’ ‘idolatry’ and a series of named deities – Woden, Thunor and Saxnot […] before asking whether they believed in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ Professor Naismith continues: The oath implied a confrontation of religious systems, though […] there are good reasons to doubt whether the devil-worship and idolatry condemned by the Christians really constituted a structured religion in the same way as Christianity. Professor Naismith also writes: ‘Implanting the Christian religion, then, involved important adjustments to how people thought of their place in the world.’ For example, Bede famously describes an adviser to the Anglo-Saxon 7th-century King Edwin (also known as Eadwine or Æduinus) summarising the pagan lack of belief in eternity as: Like the swift flight of a sparrow through the mead-hall where you sit at supper in winter, with your Ealdormen and thanes, while the fire blazes in the midst and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest, but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter to winter again. Professor Naismith makes the point that these sorts of arguments were well known and formed part of a “dialogic process”, in which missionaries were taught a series of standard approaches to pagans. Pope Gregory, Professor Naismith explains, also advised missionaries ‘to forcibly convert pagan shrines to Christian usage’. This background is of great relevance to the discussion of Beowulf. Is Beowulf a pagan paper that has been “forcibly converted” to Christianity, akin to the old shrines? Or is it part of

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