PhD Study : Social Justice Storytelling

Summary

Drawing on ongoing work in post-conflict media, media convergence and social change, the Centre for Media Research invites applications for a PhD which examines the potential for media to contribute to social justice. The proposed PhD candidate would explore the possibilities of transmedia texts to create a participatory media experience that draws in audiences to help solve complex social, cultural or political issues. This approach was popularised by the podcast Serial, but has extended out to other media forms such as Making a Murderer, and the podcasts The Missing Crypto Queen, and Death in Ice Valley. These texts use media as a contribution platform to draw on the collective skills and distinct knowledges of a crowd to contribute to solving a mystery.

This approach was used heavily in Alternate Reality Games during the late 1990’s and early 2000s, and has now shifted from solving fabricated puzzles in games like I Love Bees, The Beast, Why So Serious, and Conspiracy for Good, into working with real world case materials in long form, participatory, investigative journalism. This social justice storytelling has been explored in the article A Transmedia Topology of ‘Making a Murderer’ (Hook, Barrios-O’Neill & Mairs Dyer 2016) by staff at Ulster.

This PhD will explore practical ways that media and communication can contribute to social justice. The PhD would be co-supervised between Alan Hook, Dr Jolene Mairs-Dyer and Dr Stephen Baker and comprise of both a written thesis with core case studies, and the testing of core theories through applied research, the creation of an investigative piece of practice, and a set of results from the project. It is expected that candidates will be able to present possible research contexts, or cases for investigation in the application process.

Essential criteria

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.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

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.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

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.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• 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.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living