PhD Studentship: Welsh Women of Colour – Uncovering a Century of Political Activism

Candidates are invited to apply for this PhD studentship in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. The project, which has been developed in collaboration with the National Library of Wales, will be supervised by Dr Jenny Mathers, whose expertise lies in gender and feminist analysis, and Dr Elin Royles, a leading expert on civil society in Wales. The studentship covers UK (Home student) tuition fees and a maintenance award. Non-UK students are eligible to apply but if successful they must fund the difference between UK and non-UK tuition fees. Non-UK students much achieve a 7.0 score on IELTS or the equivalent before the end of March 2024 at the latest.

Deadline for applications: 1 March 2024

Start date: September 2024

Project Description: Wales has been home to communities of people of colour since the mid-19th century, but academic research into their political activism is still in its infancy. Ethnic minority voices, and particularly those of women, have been marginalised from formal governance structures. This project will enrich understanding of the diversity of Welsh civil society by examining the political activism of Welsh women of colour over the last century. The project will address the following research questions:

• How have Welsh women of colour been involved in political activism in relation to peace and international social justice at local, sub-state, state and international levels over the last century?
• What have been the main barriers affecting the engagement by women of colour in Welsh civil society in relation to peace and international social justice activism? 

The project will investigate the contributions of Welsh women of colour to key examples of civil society mobilisation for peace and international social justice. These will include Wales-wide initiatives (e.g., the 1923-24 women’s peace petition, Greenham Common Women's peace camp) and local-level actions (e.g., supporting refugees from the Somali civil war). Primary research will combine archival work, especially the collections of the National Library of Wales and local collections in south Wales, with oral histories. Interested applicants should contact Dr Jenny Mathers (zzk@aber.ac.uk) for further details about the project and to get an application form. The supervisors can help to shape an application for formal submission. Candidates will need to provide a cv and two academic references.