AHRC PhD Studentship in Everyday Participation and Cultural Value in Glasgow

The School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester and Glasgow Life are pleased to invite applications from outstanding postgraduates for an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD studentship to commence October 2014.

This studentship will pay full-time University tuition fees and include an annual tax free stipend at standard AHRC rates (currently £13,726 a year). In addition, Glasgow Life will provide a sum of £1,000 each year for research expenses to each successful applicant.

The studentship will be of interest to students with a background in sociology, cultural policy and/or museum studies, urban studies, cultural geography, and ethnography. This studentship has been developed under the auspices of Glasgow Life and the AHRC Connected Communities funded Understanding Everyday Participation - Articulating Cultural Value Project

Research Areas and Supervision

This studentship will be attached to the research team working on a large interdisciplinary study which over five years is exploring the relationships between participation, cultural value, social networks, and status.
In the context of Glasgow the central research questions for this PhD project are:
  • What are the forms and practices of everyday participation - where do they take place?
  • How are they valued? And how do these practices relate to formal cultural participation?
  • How is participation shaped by space, place and locality?
  • How are communities made, unmade, divided and connected through participation?
  • How do we reconnect cultural policy and institutions with everyday participation?
The successful PhD applicant will develop their project on the basis of their interest and theoretical orientation to these research questions which, applied to the context of Glasgow, will form the basis of this PhD project. The PhD work will focus on three discrete ethnographies of particular locations within Glasgow, to be determined by the student and in consultation with Glasgow Life. These pieces of ethnographic research will be contextualised and analysed with reference to existing socio-demographic and participation data and resource mapping. Within this methodological frame- ethnography informed by socio-demography and asset mapping in order to understand participation as situated- there is a great deal of scope for the student to develop their individual approach to these research questions. There is also scope to expand upon the methodology as appropriate for the specific direction of the students’ project, for instance, through the utilisation of focus group work, small scale survey, social network analysis, community co-production, and so forth. Within this flexible model of research and method the student will work with Glasgow Life to ensure opportunities for stakeholder consultation and brokerage to communities.
At the heart of this project is the aim to develop an understanding of what it is that people do in their everyday leisure time, what are the social consequences of such activities and how these activities are connected, or not, to the cultural and leisure services and resources provided by Glasgow Life.

This PhD project will draw immense benefit from being conducted as a collaboration with Glasgow Life and in parallel with the UEP project, the student will be able to draw on the research expertise and experiences of Dr Lisanne Gibson (Principal Academic Supervisor), Victoria Hollows (Manager of GoMA and Glasgow Life based PhD Supervisor) and Dr Andrew Miles (Academic Co-supervisor). Miles is the Principal Investigator and methodological lead on the UEP project, Gibson is the lead researcher on 3 of the project’s 6 ecosystems and Hollows is a practice leader in the development of museum programmes for social justice. In addition, the student will have the opportunity to profile and disseminate her/ his findings as part of the UEP project, tapping into the project’s formal academic and non-HEI stakeholder and partnership networks and participating in the project’s extensive impact pathways plan. The student will also work with Glasgow Life to ensure opportunities for wider dissemination of the PhD student’s findings.

The academic home of the PhD is the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. The applicant should  take into account that the project will involve periods of time undertaking research in Glasgow, particularly during the second year of study.

Entry Requirements
 
  • First class or upper second class undergraduate degree or an equivalent overseas qualification in one of the following (or related) fields: sociology, cultural policy studies, museum studies, urban studies, cultural geography, and/or ethnography*
  • Applicants should normally have a Masters degree or similar postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject*
  • Standard English language requirements
  • Available only to applicants who are eligible to pay the UK/EU tuition fee - i.e., those who are permanently resident in the UK or another EU country
  • Please note that applicants from the EU (excluding the UK) must have been resident in the UK for at least three years prior to commencing the studentship to receive both the stipend and fee components of this award; EU applicants who do not meet this criteria will receive the fee waiver component only and should explain in their application how they will support their living costs
  • Applicants from outside the EU are not eligible for this studentship unless they have been granted permanent UK residency/citizenship
  • For more advice on applicable eligibility criteria, please see the RCUK Training Grants Terms and Conditions
  • Available for full-time registration only
  • Applicants must be able to start in October 2014
  • Please note that the project will involve periods of time undertaking research in Glasgow - particularly during the second year of the degree
* or show evidence of achieving this by October 2014

Informal Enquiries

Informal enquiries are welcome - please contact Dr Lisanne Gibson: Apply Now
1. Prepare a personal statement of up to 1,000 words about your research interests and why you would like to participate in this research project
2. Prepare your supporting documents:
  • a full Curriculum Vitae
  • a 3,000-5,000 word sample of your written work
  • two academic references
3. Submit your online application or apply by post
Important Advice for Applicants
  • Applications must be received by noon 9 May 2014
  • Applications that do not include a full personal statement and the required supporting documents will not be considered
  • In the Fees and Financial Support section of the application, applicants must state that they wish to be considered for these October 2014 AHRC PhD Studentship in Museum Studies (Ref. Gibson)
  • Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed 27 May 2014 - applicants should ensure they will be available for interview on that day
  • We expect to be able to inform the successful applicant by the end of May
Choose the University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is one of the UK's leading universities, committed to international excellence through the creation of world changing research and high quality, inspirational teaching.
Leicester is ranked in the top 2% of universities in the world by the QS World University Rankings and THE World University Rankings. In 2013 Leicester was the highest climbing UK university in the THE World Rankings, moving up 35 places to 161st in the table.

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