The Department of History at the University of York is delighted to invite applications for one three-year PhD studentship to work on the collaborative Leverhulme-funded project ‘Parliamentary Empire: British Democracy and Settler Colonialism c.1867-1939’. This project is organised jointly by the University of Exeter and the University of York. The start date is 1 September 2021.
A second, identical studentship is available at the University of Exeter. Both studentships will be jointly supervised by Dr. Amanda Behm (York) and Professor David Thackeray (Exeter).
We welcome applications from candidates with interests in nineteenth and twentieth century British imperial history; Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Southern African history; parliamentary history; women’s history; political history and the history of political cultures; and settler colonialism and its global challengers. Successful candidates will focus on relevant topics across the project remit (c.1867-1939), such as parliamentary practices, debates about the citizenship of settlers or indigenous people, international assemblies, national and international women’s organisations, resistance to settler colonialism, and changing ideas of democratic self-government in the British Empire and connected spheres.
About the project
‘Parliamentary Empire: British Democracy and Settler Colonialism c.1867-1939’, which will run from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2024, examines the role of Parliament in civic life in the UK and the settler-colonial 'British World' between the 1860s and 1930s. By exploring how different groups appealed to values of British parliamentarianism, we shed new light on the connected debates about democratic governance and political inclusion that characterised the emergence of nations within a fractious British Empire.
Our project takes up debates over political inclusion, participation, and deliberation across connected imperial contexts. Whereas existing studies focus on national histories, we undertake a systematic, archive-based study involving (among other sources) digitised newspapers, petitions to parliament, and records of parliamentary debates. These approaches will provide wider insight into how different audiences in the UK and the settler colonies understood and negotiated a shared parliamentary culture nonetheless crosscut by projects of exclusion and racial segregation.
Further information about the scope of the project and potential research themes is available on the Imperial and Global Forum webpage.
Eligibility for the University of York-based studentship
- Applicants should hold a UK 2.1 or first class honours undergraduate degree (or overseas equivalent) in a relevant field.
- Applicants should normally hold, or successfully achieve before commencing their PhD, an equally high standard of postgraduate MA or equivalent degree in a relevant field.
- Applicants must meet the English language requirements for a PhD in History at the University of York. Details are available on the English Language Requirements webpage.
- The studentships are open to UK and international students. Please note that international students will be responsible for funding the difference between the UK and international fee rates.
- Students who have already commenced PhD study are not eligible to apply; awards are only made to applicants who are planning to commence their doctoral studies in September 2021.
- Applicants who have not yet commenced their doctoral studies but have already applied to the PhD in History at the University of York are eligible to be considered for this studentship providing they submit a new PhD application by the closing date, following the instructions listed in the section below.
- Candidates can be considered for both the York studentship and the Exeter studentship, but would need to apply to each university via the routes specified on the relevant webpages. Otherwise, applicants to the University of York will be considered for the studentship based at the University of York and applicants to the University of Exeter will be considered for the Exeter studentship. Further details on how to apply for the University of York studentship are in the section below.
How to apply:
To be considered for the studentship based in the Department of History at the University of York, applicants should apply directly to the PhD programme by midnight, 21 June 2021.
- You should apply for a place on the PhD programme in History as a full-time doctoral student at the University of York. (After submitting an application, you will then be allocated a unique 9-digit student ID number, usually a couple of days after the application has been submitted).
- As part of your application to the PhD programme in History, please provide a full CV, a personal statement, a research proposal of up to 1000 words within the area of the studentship and details of two academic referees.
- Your personal statement should outline your academic interests, prior research experience and reasons for wishing to undertake this project. The successful candidate will develop the project in close collaboration with the project team.
- When applying for a place on the PhD programme in History at the University of York:
- Please state in the application form that Dr Amanda Behm will be your supervisor.
- Please also indicate on the University application form that you will start the PhD programme in History in October 2021. This will still allow the successful applicant to commence the studentship on 1 September 2021, as advertised.
- Once you have submitted your application to the PhD programme in History, please email Anna Ruitenbeek at [Email Address Removed] to confirm that you wish to be considered for this studentship, ideally also providing your 9-digit student ID.
Interviews will be held online w/c 5 July 2021. Applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be sent details of the arrangements as soon as possible after the closing date, once all the applications have been considered.
Queries regarding the application procedure can be directed to Anna Ruitenbeek at [Email Address Removed].
Queries regarding the studentship can be directed to Dr Amanda Behm at [Email Address Removed].
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