This project reanimates an under-researched collection of over 300 models of agricultural tools, machines and infrastructure that was created and displayed by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in the first half of the 19th century, before being transferred to what later became National Museums Scotland. The collection, largely assembled between 1790 and 1866, connected the Society with many other actors and communities, from urban engineers to landowners, agriculturalists, workers, artisans and innovators in rural Lowlands and Highlands and beyond.
The collection is of significant historical significance due to the insights it provides into aspects of Scottish history – offering novel ways of engaging with the ideas and impacts of Scottish Enlightenment thinking and the agricultural and industrial revolutions. The project will explore the lives of people or places associated with the models, issues of Scottishness and regionality, and networks of science and technology. It will reconsider the models as mobile representations of ideas about economic and social improvement – and of the availability of capital for investment often resulting from imperial exploitation and overseas trade – that had deep and lasting impacts on Scotland’s landscapes, regions and population.
In the twentieth century, groups of objects from the collection moved to other organisations, including London’s Science Museum and Ingliston’s Scottish Agricultural Museum, meaning that the project also supports a study of changing ideas about public display and education relating to agricultural technologies over two centuries. Today, most of the collection is at the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride. The project will follow these objects, engage with relevant partners and communities and reveal new stories that the Museum can put to use in the future.
The student will have the opportunity to shape the research project, but potential research questions include:
· Why was the collection originally assembled and what meanings did it and the Society’s museum have for its curators, officers and visitors?
- What practices, people and places are represented by the models? E.g.
- networks linking industrial production and agricultural practice, urban and rural areas and Scotland with other parts of the world?
- patterns of activity, innovation and collaboration?
- changes to economic life and local environments?
- To what uses has the collection been put since being transferred to NMS, and what has been the impact of display or classification within different kinds of museum or subject area?
· How is the collection used today and how might its potential be realised for researchers and visitors in the future?
National Museums Scotland, of which the National Museum of Rural Life is a part, is the formal partner on the studentship. NMS's scale, role as an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) and wide range of expertise, with collections departments covering Science & Technology, Natural Sciences, Scottish History & Archaeology and Global Arts, Culture & Design, make it a stimulating and supportive environment within which to undertake doctoral research. NMS will provide workspace, relevant training, placements, access to object collections and related documentation, and opportunities to share the results of new research with a range of audiences. Working within the Museum and with its staff will give the student significant insight into the heritage sector, with opportunities to gain and develop a range of skills that will enhance their future employability in academic, heritage and other sectors. The project is also supported by the RHASS, which will offer the student means of sharing research with its audiences as well as accessing its library and collections.
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
· Applicants will have a first degree (undergraduate) at 2:1 or above and have a demonstrable interest in the topic area under investigation.
· Applicants must have a relevant Masters degree, or have completed their Master’s degree by 1 October 2023.
· Applicants can study part-time or full-time.
How to Apply: Please refer to the following website for details on how to apply:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/howtoapplyforaresearchdegree/.
Along with the online application form candidates are asked to submit a CV with the names of 2 referees, a sample of written work and a covering letter that provides a statement about why they are interested and what they can bring to the project.
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