Two PhD Studentships on the British press in World War II
16 May 2011
The Department of History and Welsh History and the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, Aberystwyth University, invites applications for two fully-funded PhD studentships commencing in September 2011, as part of a Leverhulme Trust Research Project on ‘A social and cultural history of the British press in World War II’.
This project will provide the first full critical study of the British press in the Second World War. It will explore the role of the press in its wider social, political and cultural context, place the wartime press within a wider national culture of news, information and entertainment provision, and assess how changes in the relationship between the press, other media and society during the war anticipated the development of mass communications in post-war Britain. The project is led by Dr Sian Nicholas and Professor Tom O’Malley.
Studentship 1 will be based in the Department of History and Welsh History and will focus on the press and wartime political culture, paying particular attention to issues such as national identity, participation, associational life, wartime political debate and dissent, and reconstruction. Studentship 2 will be based in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, and will focus on the ‘everyday’ role of the wartime press, paying particular attention to issues such as class, gender, consumption (including advertising), leisure and entertainment culture. Both studentships will involve the use of a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis of newspapers as well as research in relevant archives. Dr Nicholas and Professor O’Malley will act as co-supervisors on both doctorates.
Applicants should have an exceptional undergraduate record in modern British history, media and communications studies or a related field, and Master’s level research experience in an area relevant to the project. The studentships pay the equivalent of UK/EU tuition fees and a maintenance grant of £13,590 each year for a maximum of three years of full-time doctoral study (subject to evidence of satisfactory progress).
Applications should be made on the standard university postgraduate application form, which can be obtained from http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/postgrad/howtoapply/, or by application to the Postgraduate Admissions Office, Student Welcome Centre, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3FB, email: pg-admissions@aber.ac.uk. Applications should specify the department to which the studentship in which you are interested has been assigned; ‘Leverhulme Press and WWII Project: Studentship 1 (or 2)’ as the project title; ‘Press and WWII Project’ as the studentship name; and ‘Leverhulme Trust’ as the funding body; and should include a personal statement of up to 1000 words detailing your research experience and suitability for the studentship. The closing date for applications is Monday 20 June 2011. Interviews will be held in the week beginning Monday 11 July 2011.
For informal enquiries and further information please contact Dr Sian Nicholas, Department of History and Welsh History, Aberystwyth University (shn@aber.ac.uk) or Professor Tom O’Malley, Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies (tpo@aber.ac.uk).
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