Please note and advertise:

AHRC PHD STUDENTSHIP

University of Manchester, School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures

Venice remembered: identity and the uses of history in Risorgimento and 
Liberal Italy, 1815-1922

The Arts and Humanities Research Council is offering three years of funding 
to work on a PhD entitled Public history and collective memory in Venice 
and Venetia, 1815-1922 under the supervision of Dr David Laven. The 
successful applicant will have fees paid, and, where eligible, receive a 
full AHRC maintenance grant, while participating in a project, also funded 
by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which will run for thirty-six 
calendar months from 1 September 2007 under the auspices of the University 
of Manchester's Centre for Research in the Cultural Forms of Modern 
European Politics (CultMEP).

The research of the PhD student will examine the place of historical 
studies and public celebrations of historical events in Venice and Venetia 
within the period 1814-1922. It will investigate how successive régimes 
sought to mould and present history from antiquity to the Napoleonic Empire 
in schools and universities, and how the state was involved in the 
memorialisation and commemoration of the past in the region.

The research will consist of two related strands. 1. How did the practice 
of teaching history evolve in the region and how far did this reflect an 
official version of the Venetian past? Special attention will be paid to 
the training, appointment and supervision of teaching personnel; the 
construction and revision of history syllabuses; the choice of text books; 
the formation of libraries. 2. How was the past represented outside the 
classroom and lecture hall? This will look at organisation of public 
museums and galleries, at the rôle of public ceremonies marking historical 
events, and at the erection of plaques and statues.

Within this study particular emphasis will be placed on how far 
state-sponsored educational or commemorative activities permitted a 
glorification of Venice's past, and how far, when Venetianness was 
celebrated, past glories were appropriated for the ends either of the 
city's Habsburg masters or, after 1866, of the new Italian state. This 
research will be directed towards answering broader questions concerning 
the way in which governments sought to enlist history in shaping the 
citizenry and educating for public service in the nineteenth and early 
twentieth centuries. The project is currently defined broadly to permit the 
student to narrow chronological focus and/or concentrate on specific case 
studies.

Applications are invited from students who hold a first-class or good upper 
second-class degree (or equivalent) in History or Modern Languages (or 
related disciplines), and who either hold or will be near completing a 
Masters degree (or equivalent) by 1 September 2007. In addition, the 
successful candidate should either possess a good knowledge of Italian, or 
have an excellent knowledge of another Romance language and a willingness 
to master Italian within a six month period. In addition, some preference 
may be given to students who have a reading knowledge of German and/or 
French, and some experience of undertaking archival research. Non-native 
speakers of English should have a minimum IELTS overall score of 7, with 7 
in the writing element, or a TOEFL of 600 (paper-based), 250 
(computer-based) or 100 (internet-based).

Due to funding regulations, the applicant must be either a UK national, or 
be a non-UK national who satisfies AHRC eligibility criteria. Non-UK 
nationals are advised to consult the 'Guide for Applicants for Postgraduate 
Awards in the Arts and Humanities: The Doctoral Awards Scheme' on the AHRC 
website www.ahrc.ac.uk, or to contact the AHRC directly (tel. +44[0]117 987 
6500) to establish whether or not they meet eligibility requirements. 
Please note that some potential non-UK EU students will be eligible for 
fees but not for the maintenance grant.

Applicants are invited to address informal inquiries to Dr David Laven 
(tel. +44[0]161 275 3126 or e-mail [log in to unmask])

To apply please send a full curriculum vitae (including statements of 
linguistic competence) and a 500-1000 word outline of why you are 
interested in the project and how you might approach it.

The closing date for applications is 1 June 2007. 

Applications should be made directly to: 
Dr David Laven
School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
M13 9PL
United Kingdom