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As part
of its collaboration in a £1.94 million AHRC-funded project – Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of
Human-Chicken Interactions – the University of Roehampton is offering five
fully-funded PhD studentships (two AHRC studentships and three Roehampton Vice-Chancellor’s
Studentships) in social anthropology. All of these studentships include payment
of fees and cost of living bursaries. Each studentship will consist of an
individual research topic:


1.     
Chicken
cultures and Masculinities in Cuba (AHRC 
Studentship)


2.     
Women
and Chicken Husbandry in Ethiopia (AHRC Studentship)


3.     
Amateur
Chicken-Keeping in Modern Britain (Roehampton Studentship)


4.     
Pedigree
Chicken Breeding, Display and Exhibition (Roehampton Studentship)


5.     
Chickens
in Religious Cosmologies and Practices (Roehampton Studentship)


However,
the research for each of these individual anthropology projects will be pursued
in the context of the overall project that is multi-university (Bournemouth,
Nottingham, York, Durham and Leicester) and multidisciplinary (archaeology,
zoöarchaeology, history, anthropology, genetics, biological sciences). 


The
central aim of the project is to explore the multi-faceted significances of
chickens in human cultures. The chicken is native to Southeast Asia but over
the last 8,000 years it has been transported by people around the world - no
other livestock species is so widely established. The chicken's eastward spread
from Asia to the Americas has been the subject of many studies; however, its
diffusion to the West has received much less attention. There have been a few
small-scale surveys documenting the spread of chickens across Europe but there
has been no comprehensive review about the rapidity of the spread and its
cultural and environmental impacts. No ancient (and little modern) DNA work has
been published for European chickens, nor have there been any isotopic studies
focussed specifically upon their diets or whether they were bred locally or
traded. Given the social and cultural significance of this species (whether as
a provider of meat, eggs or feathers, its widespread use in cockfighting or its
association with ritual, magic and medicine), a detailed analysis of the
natural and cultural history of chickens in Europe is long overdue and has
genuine potential to provide cultural data of the highest quality and relevance
for a range of disciplines and audiences. The social anthropological projects
have been carefully selected to generate social and cultural understandings of
human-chicken interactions that will feed into the overall objectives of the
project.


 


Applications
are invited from researchers with a strong interest in anthropological
approaches to the study of human-animal relations. Applicants should hold a
Master’s degree (or equivalent) in social anthropology or a closely-related
disciplinary field. 


 


Applicants
for the AHRC Studentships (fees and bursary) should check their eligibility by
going to the AHRC website:


http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Funding-Opportunities/Pages/Funding-Opportunities.aspx


then go
to the link Student Funding Guide in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen
for the PDF.


 


The
Roehampton Vice-Chancellor’s Studentships are open to all suitably-qualified
applicants. Fees will be covered and the bursaries will be offered at standard
research council rates. 


 


Interviews
are expected to be held in late November/beginning December 2013 and successful
applicants should be available to commence in January 2014.


 


Applying


Applicants
should go to this page of the Graduate School


http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Courses/Graduate-School/Applying/


and
download the application for MPhil/PhD


 


Completed
applications should be sent to:


Home
applications: [log in to unmask]


International/EU
applications: [log in to unmask]


Postal
address: University of Roehampton Admissions Department, Erasmus House, Digby
Stuart College,  Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5PU, UK


 


Applicants
should include a one-page letter explaining what interests them about the
particular research topic for which they are applying. Applicants may apply for
more than one of the topics but must make a separate application and write a
separate letter for each. Applicants should also clearly indicate which
application is their preferred choice.


 


All
applicants are advised to discuss their interest in the project with Professor
Garry Marvin ([log in to unmask])
who will direct the anthropological part of the research project.


  		 	   		  
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