PhD studentship – “Auditory Histories of Occupation in 20th century Asia”

Nottingham, UK
Deadline: 31st Mar 2017

The Department of History at the University of Nottingham invites applications from suitably-qualified candidates for a full-time studentship in Auditory Histories of Occupation in Twentieth-Century Asia. The studentship is offered through the project, Cultures of Occupation in Twentieth-Century Asia (COTCA), led by Dr Jeremy E. Taylor. The successful candidate will develop an auditory or sonic history study of foreign occupation in twentieth-century East and/or Southeast Asia.

How has foreign occupation shaped culture? What are the lasting cultural legacies of foreign occupation in the modern era? These are key questions which, in light of continuing occupations around the world, remain crucial today. COTCA will address these questions by analysing how occupation – under colonial, wartime or Cold War powers – gave rise to unique visual, auditory and spatial regimes in East and Southeast Asia. Details of the project’s aims and objectives can be found at the Project Web site: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cotca/index.aspx.

This studentship fits within COTCA’s Stream 2: ‘Sounds of Occupation in Twentieth-Century Asia’. The precise choice of research topic will lie with the student in consultation with supervisors, but it must employ an ‘auditory history’ approach to analyse the impact of foreign occupation (understood in its widest sense) on cultural expression in East and/or Southeast Asia in the twentieth century. It might therefore be a specific study of occupation in an individual society, or it might be comparative or regional in focus.
Integral to the COTCA Project as a whole is a Digital Archive. The successful candidate will contribute to building this, in conjunction with Dr Taylor, and IT services at the University of Nottingham.

The PhD is tenable for three years commencing 1 October 2017, subject to satisfactory progress review, and consists of an annual stipend matching RCUK rates (£14,553 p.a. in 2017-18, updated annually), plus an overseas fieldwork allowance of £1,350. The studentship also includes a fee waiver for Home/EU fees. For international applicants the studentship will cover the international tuition fee (£15,570 in 2017-18) with a correspondingly reduced stipend. Please apply via University of Nottingham PhD applications. Include a personal statement (2,000 characters) and a research proposal (2,000 characters) on how the PhD will address COTCA’s aims and objectives. Please enter ‘COTCA studentship’ as the source of funding, and Dr Jeremy Taylor as potential supervisor. Your two references must address the applicant’s suitability for a place on the course, and their suitability for the studentship.

You must be holding the offer of a place on the course before you will be considered for funding. It is therefore imperative that you complete the online application as soon as possible. The deadline for applications is 16:00 (British time) on 31 March 2017. Interviews will be in April or May 2017 (in person or via skype). Informal enquiries should be directed to jeremy.taylor@nottingham.ac.uk

Funding is guaranteed irrespective of the outcome of any UK/EU negotiations