Applications are invited for a PhD studentship funded by the European Research Council. The successful applicant will join the Spatial Humanities: Texts, GIS, Places project, a major research team of historians, geographers and others who are working with large data resources - statistical, textual and geographical - to study the nineteenth and early twentieth century England & Wales. The successful applicant will be able to use these resources and the team's expertise to conduct an independent and self-contained piece of research. We will work with the student to define a topic within the following broad subject areas:
- Medical Humanities: We have a large amount of data available on population, mortality, fertility and health. One possible topic would be the decline in mortality in parts of rural England and/or Wales in the nineteenth century focusing on how, when and most importantly why mortality decline occurred in rural areas. Other topics could also be developed in partnership between the student and the project team.
- Digital History: The team has a large amount of expertise in subjects including text mining of historical sources and historical geographical information systems (HGIS). We would be interested in topics that apply these approaches to the study of nineteenth or twentieth century history.
We require someone with a background in historical demography, historical geography, or digital history/history and computing. A knowledge of nineteenth or early twentieth century British history would also be an advantage. Detailed expertise in quantitative methods, text mining or GIS is not required as training can be given. An openness to these methods and a willingness to learn is essential.
This studentship is being offered on a +3 basis, so candidates will have achieved a level of research training that will allow them to proceed directly to a PhD, usually because they already hold a Masters qualification. The studentship includes a tax free stipend of a minimum of £13,590 p.a. for home students.
The deadline for applications is Friday 5th April 2013. Please send a CV and letter of application outlining your suitability for the role and a full CV including educational qualifications to Mrs Ghislaine O'Neill, Postgraduate Administrator, Department of History, Lancaster University, LA1 4YT, UK or G.Oneill@lancaster.ac.uk.
Potential applicants are encouraged to make enquiries to Prof. Ian Gregory I.Gregory@lancaster.ac.uk. For more details on the Spatial Humanities: Texts, GIS, Places project see: SH Project. For more information on the department and its staff see Staff at the History Department.
