Much has been established over the last quarter century as the reach of the family photographic album and its part in photographic history has been celebrated, appropriated and tested. From the end of analogue technologies to the prevailing digital platforms, the genre has had a significant and intimate role to play in the establishing of memory and the noting of relationships and personal histories.
This research will look at the strategies through which photography offers the potential to establish real and imagined histories. The candidate in this study will draw on an already advanced and refined practical engagement to progress research around the family collection, stories and their ‘keeping’, their purpose and even appropriation in contemporary practice. The candidate will examine the traits dominant in recent practice and look to evaluate established histories and developments in the photographic collecting of personal histories. In so doing, new questions will be explored around the dominant presence of digital photographic processes and personal histories - with their brevity, impermanence and the implications for storytelling and articulating personal narratives potential themes for exploration.
Practical development around new family narratives, the recording of memory and histories and the duplicity of the photographic image and the diary in the digital age is anticipated as an element of practice towards new work in this PhD research.
Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.
We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.
In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.
If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.
The University offers the following levels of support:
The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:
These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.
The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).
This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living
Submission deadline
Friday 7 February 2020
12:00AM
Interview Date
Either week commencing 9 or 16 March 2020
Preferred student start date
01 September 2020
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