Dear Colleagues

I would be grateful if you could circulate the details of this AHRC studentship as set out below. 
Another studentship based with my colleague Steve Brown at Leicester working on this same 
project will be advertised shortly.


Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Research Studentship

Conflicts of Memory: Mediating and Commemorating the 2005 London Bombings


Applications are invited for a three-year Doctoral Research Studentship to work under the 
directorship of Dr. Nuria Lorenzo-Dus (Applied Linguistics, School of Arts, Swansea University) 
and Dr. Andrew Hoskins (Department of Sociology, University of Warwick), with the studentship 
being located at Swansea University.

This PhD studentship will examine the role of public bystanders-as-witnesses to events through 
their use of personal ‘mobile media’ (chiefly, mobile phone cameras and video) in shaping 
breaking and commemorative news narratives. The particular focus will be on the insertion of 
‘public witnesses’ into television news frames and ‘traumatic spaces’ (Zelizer, 2002) in mediating 
and mitigating catastrophic media events in contradistinction to the performance of this function 
by journalists and other news workers. This research will contribute to an understanding of the 
nature and extent of the development of so-called ‘citizen journalism’ (Gillmor, 2004) in relation 
to claims that news agendas and narratives have become ‘democratised’ through the increased 
availability of highly portable audio/visual recording equipment to members of the general public. 
The research student will be expected to have a background in discourse analysis and media 
studies. He/she should also possess interest in the fields of conflict and commemoration. Over the 
three-year period of the research grant, the research student will be working as part of a research 
team on the project outlined below and will be expected to contribute fully to activities organised 
within its remit. 

As per AHRC funding regulations, applicants for this doctoral research studentship must be UK 
nationals, or if non-UK / non EU citizens, they must either satisfy UK residency requirements or be 
(non-UK) EU nationals who have been ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the 3 year period 
immediately prior to 1 June 2007. For further details, please 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). EU students who have not been resident in the UK for this period may 
apply to be considered for the studentship on a university tuition fees-only basis. The terms and 
conditions of the award will be those of the AHRC's postgraduate studentships. 

Submission guidelines and deadline:

Applications should be made using the AHRC application forms for Doctoral Research (available 
from http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/apply/postgrad/doctoral_awards_scheme.asp) and submitted to Dr 
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus, Applied Linguistics, School of Arts, Swansea University, Singleton Park, 
Swansea, SA2 8PP, tel. no.: + 1792  602540, [log in to unmask] Applicants should 
arrange to supply two references (on the AHRC forms) and information from their previous 
university about their grades and results for any prior degrees. The closing date is Friday 8 June 
2007 at 4pm.

Applicants should have:

• 1st Class or Upper 2nd Class Honours degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Linguistics / Language 
Studies; Media, Communication and Cultural Studies; Sociology)
• Masters degree in an area relevant to the project (see project summary below). Applicants who 
do not hold a masters degree will be considered if they can demonstrate sustained and relevant 
experience and meet the criteria outlined in the AHRC guidelines.


Project summary:

AHRC Research Grants (Standard) Scheme, Award no: AH/E002579/1:

Conflicts of Memory: Mediating and Commemorating the 2005 London Bombings

People routinely remember and use the past by intertwining personal narratives with public 
events. People remember where they are when dramatic events occurred. These may be highly 
mediated memories – in film, on television, and in print – but they are still part of our very real 
personal and collective memories. Personal biography intersects with history in just this implicit 
way, locating the unfolding details of everyday life in terms of the events of the larger society-
history in the making. The project traces the linkages between the media and our everyday 
remembering of past events through comparing the instant and archival capacities of television 
with people’s own retelling of events.

Very recently, there has been a massive increase in the availability and use of mobile phones 
equipped with cameras and videos in the UK, which has led to images and film captured by 
bystanders being used to help create and shape ‘breaking news’ stories. This research will 
investigate the impact of these ‘personal’ media and ‘individual’ accounts on television news 
coverage of traumatic events (the July 2005 London bombings) and also on how these events are 
later commemorated on television, and how they ultimately come to be remembered by news 
publics.



Contact for informal inquiries and further information about the project: 
Dr. Nuria Lorenzo-Dus: [log in to unmask] 
Dr. Andrew Hoskins: [log in to unmask]