Research Fellow, to assist with the Oxford Edition of John Marston

University of Leeds, Faculty of Arts, School of English
Research Fellow, Fixed term, 5 years full-time from 1 September 2015
Closing date: 22 July 2015

Applications are invited for a Research Fellow to assist the General Editors of the newly commissioned Oxford Edition of John Marston. This major new project will create the first modern critical edition (in print and digital form) of Marston's complete works. The successful applicant will be based at Leeds, and will be part of a fourteen-strong editorial team working under the direction of Professor Martin Butler (Leeds) and Professor Matthew Steggle (Sheffield Hallam).

You will undertake collation of printed books and manuscripts in Britain and the UK, help to prepare the old-spelling text, compile contextual materials for the edition, and assist with the work of editorial checking and correction. In addition, the role will involve managing the edition’s website and digital output, liaising with other members of the editorial team, and organising the workshops and public events associated with the project.

You will have a PhD in early modern English Literature or related subject along with experience of working with 17th Century books and manuscripts.

University Grade 7 (£31,342 - £37,394 p.a.; funding limitations mean that the initial appointment will be made no higher than £32,277 p.a.).

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Martin Butler, tel +44 (0)113 343 4766, email m.h.butler@leeds.ac.uk

Closing Date: 22 July 2015 Interviews are expected to be held on 13 August 2015

Further information: https://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=ARTEN1012

Research into the Medieval and Early Modern: Navigating Issues of Engagement

Queen Mary, University of London and London Medieval Graduate Network
Saturday, 18 October 2014 from 10:00 to 18:30 (BST)

This colloquium is free of charge. Lunch and refreshments will be served throughout the day, and the colloquium will be rounded off with a drinks reception.

This one-day Colloquium will focus on the how and why of researchers connecting with wider audiences and ‘the public’, via radio, television, popular books and journals, newspapers, exhibitions, blogs, etc. We want to look into the role of public engagement - to what extent will current graduates need to be – or can they be – involved in this and how will they grow into it? Other questions we may ask are: how can early career researchers be selective and know when to seize opportunities, how can they access various types of media, how can these media be used most effectively, how accessible is the academic ‘style’, and how can public engagement help us to develop and progress professionally?

Many emerging academics would like an opportunity to communicate their research to the public via various forms of media, but they are often unsure how to access these types of media and they might not know the best ways to use these forms of media if an opportunity arises. On a more fundamental level, a common concern is how this type of public engagement might affect an academic’s research life. Will turning a PhD into a more commercially viable book actually be detrimental to academic job applications? Will an appearance on a television or radio programme change the way your colleagues and potential future employers could view you and/or your research? How do we know which opportunities to agree to, and which to turn down? These are some of the questions we hope might be partly answered during the course of this colloquium.

During three panels, the various speakers will explain how they became involved with various projects and how this affected their research (both positively and negatively), and there will be ample time for questions afterwards. The first two sessions will feature several academics talking about public engagement through their own experiences and current projects, whilst the third session will feature industry professionals who will share their experiences in working with academics (publisher, radio producer, artist in residence). As well as offering practical advice for students who want to engage with the public about their research via various media, the event will provide a forum for wider discussion of increasingly important questions on how public engagement ‘fits’ with an academic career and the importance we should place on this aspect of academia.

Although the day will be focused on research into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (where do these periods even fit in with ideas of ‘public engagement’?), the event is open to all who are interested in attending. The speakers will share some of their own experiences and will offer practical advice, applicable to any field of study.

Our confirmed speakers include Prof. Miri Rubin (Queen Mary, School of History), Prof. Adrian Armstrong (Queen Mary, School of Languages, Linguistics, and Film), Clare Whistler (Leverhulme Art Fellow for the History of the Emotions, 2013/2014) Mukti Campion (BBC radio producer) and Claudia Bickford-Smith (Cambridge University Press). More speakers tbc.

This event is sponsored by QMUL, together with the London Medieval Graduate Network. The main organisers are: Hetta Howes, Ella Kilgallon, and Lydia Zeldenrust.

Stereotyping in Early Modern British Public Spheres: History as Fieldwork

Event Date: 16 Jun 2014 to 17 Jun 2014

Day 1: Bloomsbury Room G35 (starts at 9:30am) ; Day 2: Woburn Room G22 (ends by 3pm), Institute of Historical Research, University of London

This two-day conference seeks to explore patterns of stereotyping in early modern British public spheres and how they influenced the negotiation of power across different spheres of life. To do this, the conference invites you to think of early modern research as a form of ‘fieldwork’, which could benefit from – and in turn enhance – more contemporary forms of ‘fieldworks’ conducted across the social sciences. The conference accordingly brings together early modernists, C20 historians and psychologists, all interested from different angles in how representations shaped meaning and social relationships. The meeting thus pushes interdisciplinary dialogue to a new, exciting, direction.

Conference Organisers: Koji Yamamoto (History, King’s College London) and Vlad Glaveanu (Psychology, Aalborg, Denmark)

Plenary Lecture: Mark Knights (History, Warwick), ‘Stereotypes and History’

Confirmed early modern participants: William Bulman (Lehigh); Will Cavert (Cambridge); Justin Champion (Royal Holloway, London); Tim Harris (Brown); Rob Iliffe (Sussex); Brodie Waddell (Birkbeck); Andy Wood (Durham)

Confirmed commentators: Susan Condor (Social Psychology, Loughborough); Lucy Delap (C20 History, King’s College London); Denis Hilton (Psychology, Toulouse II); Sandra Jovchelovitch (Psychology, LSE); Becky Taylor (C20 History, Birkbeck); Wolfgang Wagner (Psychology, Linz); Brady Wagoner (Psychology, Aalborg); Abigail Woods (History of Science, King’s College London)

Registration is now open via the conference website.

N.B. If registered before the end of April, student rate is just £10 including lunch and refreshments.

Dr Koji Yamamoto
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow (2012-2015)
Department of History
King's College London