The University of Bedfordshire’s Research Institute for Media, Art and Performance (RIMAP) is offering a fees only full-time PhD studentship researching the literature of Bedfordshire from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century.
Depictions of Bedfordshire appear in the work of known writers such as Charles Dickens, Mark Rutherford, Arnold Bennett and H.E. Bates, and the effect of advances in agriculture on its population are recorded in, for example, the diary of the Brousefield family and correspondence of villagers. However, there are forgotten writers whose work is due for reconsideration. The research will explore literary placemaking through uncovering previously unknown writers and recovering forgotten writers who have lived in Bedfordshire, or whose work depicts the towns, villages, people and changing landscape of Bedfordshire. The student will be part of the Literary Bedfordshire initiative, and while the main focus will be the literary research, they will also engage in outreach to local schools and, through local festivals and libraries, develop a sense of place, while also offering ways to decolonize the curriculum, and extend the choice of authors available and accessible to readers from teen to adult.
The student will be supervised by Dr Nicola Darwood and Dr Oliver Belas from the School of Education and English, and will join a growing group of researchers working on a range of literary focused projects. They will be based at the Bedford campus of the university, and will also be supported by, and engage with, with the Arts and Culture Project Team and the university’s marketing and outreach teams.
The project will suit a graduate in English Literature, or who has a degree with a significant element of English literature, with a particular interest in literature from the nineteenth century to the present day. Applicants should hold a first class or good upper second class honours degree in a relevant area, and/or a Master’s degree. The studentship will start in March 2023.
Applicants should apply via the Research Graduate School with a full application, a research proposal and a 2000 word sample of their writing (see http://www.beds.ac.uk/research-ref/rgs/research-application-form). Following the shortlisting and interview process, the successful applicant will be invited on to the PhD programme at the University of Bedfordshire using the link Acceptance of the funded studentship. Acceptance will be conditional upon receiving a formal offer from the University of Bedfordshire, and meeting any conditions of that offer.
For more information about the project and for an initial discussion please contact Dr Nicola Darwood ([Email Address Removed]). You can also visit the staff profiles for Dr Darwood and Dr Belas (https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/departments/education-and-english-language/staff/nicola-darwood/ and https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/departments/education-and-english-language/staff/oliver-belas/)
Further information about the Research Graduate School and details of the formal application process can be found at https://www.beds.ac.uk/rgs/
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