AHRC-funded Collaborative PhD Studentship
Department of Geography, School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth
Resources, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, and Porthcurno Telegraph
Museum.
Following the award of an extended programme of AHRC Collaborative PhD
Studentships, the University of Exeter, in partnership with Porthcurno
Telegraph Museum, is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified applicant for a
doctoral studentship for three years commencing on 1 October 2008. Further
appointments will be made in October 2009 and 2010.
The overall theme of the extended programme is "Themes in the Historical
Geography of Communication: the Eastern Telegraph Company to Cable and
Wireless, 1869-1945". Three PhD projects have been identified under this
broad theme, one of which will commence in October 2008 (in discussion
between the supervisors and the successful candidate).
1. Visual culture and corporate identity:
Principal supervisor - Professor James Ryan; 2nd supervisor - Professor
Catherine Brace
This project will examine the place of visual culture in the making of
institutional company narratives in the Eastern Telegraph Company in the
nineteenth and twentieth century. It aims to explore and explain the
significant roles played by forms and technologies of visual media -
including advertising, photography and maps - within in the expansion of the
telegraph and communications industries in Britain and beyond. This project
will be an original study into the use of visual culture in a business
context, looking particularly at the use of photographs, maps, advertising
and marketing material to narrate the Eastern Telegraph Company’s identity
as a significant empire-wide corporation.
2. Entwined business and imperial histories:
Principal supervisor - Dr Nicola Thomas; 2nd supervisor – Professor James Ryan
The entwined histories of business, commerce and ‘informal’ empire will be
explored through the case study of the British companies associated with
supplying and maintaining telegraph communication to China. It is
anticipated that this research will contribute to the understanding of the
cultures of informal empire in China; the place of science and technology
within the imperial project; and intersections between imperialism and
commerce in a Chinese context. This project will provide new insights into
the history of empire, focusing on the ways in which commercial and
political imperatives entwined in the business of global communications,
using the case study of China and Hong Kong.
3. The Strategic and tactical role of Cable and Wireless during the Second
World War:
Principal supervisor - Professor Catherine Brace; 2nd supervisor – Dr Nicola
Thomas
This project will supply a uniquely comprehensive study of the operations of
a large company in war time, focusing particularly on the defence of Cable
and Wireless’s operations in the UK and elsewhere, and its participation in
secret activities, code breaking and intelligence. During the Second World
War, the operations of Cable and Wireless were critical; governments
co-ordinated policy, broadcasters received the latest war news and families
exchanged messages with men fighting overseas. Cables lent a tactical
advantage; they could not be intercepted as radio signals could, though
cables were frequently cut. The relationship between government and private
business was renegotiated in light of the strategic importance of the
company’s assets and activities which allowed the integration of
intelligence with decision-making. None of these aspects of the company’s
activities has previously been researched in any critical depth.
Under the terms of the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Scheme, the
successful applicant will benefit from opportunities to work closely with
Porthcurno Telegraph Museum team, who are responsible for the management and
promotion of the museum and its activities. This will involve gaining
first-hand experience of working on the management of the collection instead
of simply viewing it as a scholarly resource. The experience of working
with this collection will enhance the employment-related skills and training
of the doctoral student. Specific skills related to the handling,
preservation and organisation of fragile archive material will be augmented
by more generic skills transferable into any workplace such as negotiating
between priorities, managing time and resources, working to a brief, working
with others, and communicating findings to expert and lay audiences. A key
feature of this collaborative project is that the student will have the
opportunity to communicate the outputs of the PhD research to non-academic
audiences through, for example, exhibitions, WebPages, leaflets and talks.
This project should interest applicants with backgrounds in diverse
disciplines and subject areas, including, for example, cultural geography,
historical geography, history. Applicants should hold a 1st Class or Upper
2nd Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline. A Master’s degree, either
held or in progress, in a relevant area, would be an advantage. The
successful applicant will further benefit from working within a lively and
expanding research environment within the Department of Geography at the
University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus near Falmouth in Cornwall (see
http://www.sogaer.ex.ac.uk/geography/ for details of the department, and
follow the link on the left to Cornwall Campus).
The award will cover University tuition fees and provide a maintenance award
of approximately £12,940 per year for three years. The terms and conditions
of the award will be those of the AHRC’s postgraduate studentships.
Applicants must therefore have a relevant connection with the United
Kingdom, usually through residence. For further information, or informal
discussion about the position, please contact: Professor Catherine Brace
(email [log in to unmask], tel. 01326 371810).
Applicants should send a copy of their CV, with the names and addresses of 2
referees, plus a statement outlining their academic interests and their
reasons for wishing to undertake this research project to: Helen Pisarska
([log in to unmask]). The deadline for applications is Wednesday
30th April 2008. Interviews will be held at the Cornwall Campus on Tuesday
20th May and Wednesday 21st May 2008 (applicants will need to be present for
both days).
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