Medieval and Modern History and Archaeology
University of York and the York Archaeological Trust (YAT)
‘Possession, consumption and choice: three studies of the material culture of domestic goods in York and Yorkshire 1400-1900.'
Applications are invited for 3 full-time PhD studentships in medieval and early modern History and in Archaeology, available from October 2008. These three-year studentships are fully funded through AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Awards and managed by the University of York and the York Archaeological Trust (YAT).
The three projects will focus on the circulation, ownership, value and use of everyday domestic objects between 1400 and 1900. They will draw upon the extensive and well-conserved artefact collections and field reports of YAT, together with documentary sources relating to both commercial and familial transactions in goods in regional archives. Together they will develop an interdisciplinary approach which starts from the objects and their known provenance and then builds this into wider interpretative frameworks exploiting new methodologies and approaches to material culture. This is an exciting opportunity for students interested in studying the history and archaeology of popular culture and everyday domesticity, giving them unprecedented access to extensive and well curated, but little studied, collections of research materials. Current large-scale excavations in the city centre of York are producing large quantities of artefacts from the early-modern and modern periods, greatly expanding the existing collections of material which are predominantly from the period before 1600. The projects together will compare the everyday domestic material cultures of both urban and rural communities, across the medieval and early modern periods permitting a longue durée approach. However each project will have clear separate objectives, as described in the further details, and there will be considerable scope for independent student initiative. The students will be expected to play an active role in the research communities of both the University and the YAT, including the dissemination of research findings in both scholarly and publicly accessible forms.
The three projects are:
Project One: Branded Goods c. 1600-1900 (Dr N. Glaisyer, History)
Project Two: Neighbourhood Assemblages c.1000-2000 (Dr K. Giles, Archaeology)
Project Three: Networks of Exchange, c. 1400-1600 (Dr S. Rees Jones, History)
Further details are available here: http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/hist/graduate/resdegr.shtml
Applicants should hold a good Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject and hold, or expect to complete by September 2008, a Master's degree in a relevant field. For Projects 1 and 3 proficiency in reading sources in manuscript is required.
Application forms http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/gso/gsp/apply plus two letters of reference should be sent to the Graduate Schools Office at the University of York to arrive no later than 16 May 2008. Under section 3 of the application form, ‘Outline of academic interests or proposed research topic', applicants should make a 300-word statement of how their education and training to date will allow them to respond to one of the project agendas outlined in the further details.
Applicants may be called for interview in York in late May/early June. Informal inquiries may be made to Dr Sarah Rees Jones, University of York, srrj1@york.ac.uk.
