A fully-funded PhD studentship, to begin in September 2025, is available at the University of Warwick’s Department of History, in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), through the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership.

The Hakluyt Society has published hundreds of travel accounts mostly of European colonial ‘discovery’. Yet despite its celebration of Elizabethan empire-builders, support for Victorian explorers and connections with the Royal Geographical Society and India Office, it has never before been studied in relation to British imperial culture and its public legacies.

The Project 

Founded in 1846, the history of the Hakluyt [hak-loowt] Society (named after Richard Hakluyt, 1553-1616) reveals the intersections of gentlemanly societies, institutions of learning and British colonialism. By publishing primary sources relating to mainly British and European colonial expansion, the Hakluyt Society shaped how the imperial past was remembered. This project explores how the Society selected, edited and disseminated historical materials, and how these sources and their editorial framing impacted the understanding of travel and travel writing during the expansion, and break up, of the British Empire. It also examines how the Society adjusted to changing circumstances in the era of decolonisation. In this way, the project contributes to ongoing conversations within the Hakluyt Society about its institutional past and publishing remit, and broader efforts to ‘decolonise’, and develop more critical understanding of, ‘imperial’ institutions and the continuing significance of the colonial legacies embedded in travel writing and its history.

The project provides opportunities for the successful applicant to develop their own research questions, which may include:

1. How did the Hakluyt Society’s mission take shape within wider cultures of empire and exploration and through its entanglements with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), India Office, British Museum and other institutions?
2. How was the (re)discovery, editing and publication of historical accounts of travel and geography managed, and how did it reflect and promote the culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century imperial exploration?
3. How did the colonial careers and visions of leading figures within the Hakluyt Society impact on the editing of historical texts, and dissemination of historical narratives?
4. What are the post-colonial legacies of the Hakluyt Society for the development of public and scholarly histories of global travel, exploration and empire?

The main collections utilised are the Hakluyt Society’s archive (catalogued in 2022 and held at the British Library) and publications. The archive includes council minutes, annual reports, printed lectures, membership and financial records, correspondence with editors and newsletters. Hakluyt Society publications consist of 380 volumes of primary sources, alongside annual lectures and leaflets. Further relevant materials include records of related institutions, principally the RGS; correspondence of selected Hakluyt Society presidents and secretaries; book reviews; promotional materials; and the wider publication output of individuals associated with the Society. The project is open to a variety of inter/disciplinary perspectives including those drawing on the history of science; book and publishing history; postcolonial studies; and travel writing studies.

The Studentship

The studentship covers full payment of tuition fees for 4 years (full-time) plus an annual stipend at the UKRI rate. Additional funding opportunities include a Research Development Fund (RDF) to support primary research activities, an Engagement Fund (EF) to enable students to attend conferences and undertake placements and other professional development activity, and a Cohort Development Fund (CDF) which supports groups of Midlands4Cities students to design training, development and research activities.

The student will be supervised by Guido van Meersbergen and David Lambert at the University of Warwick’s Department of History, home to over 45 academics with unrivalled expertise in topics spanning the globe, working with almost 50 PhD researchers. At the RGS, the student will be supervised by Dr Sarah Evans and Dr Catherine Souch. From the outset, the Hakluyt Society’s history was intertwined with that of the RGS, on whose premises it still meets. The RGS will provide the student with access to a workspace in the Foyle Reading Room and full access to the Wiley Digital Archives platform. The student will be assisted by a team of archivists and information specialists, and supported in the development of educational and public-engagement activities to extend the reach of the research and receive advice from the Society’s Grants Manager in applying for funding to support research.

The studentship includes opportunities to apply for funded placements of up to 6 months in total, in addition to the 3.5 years for the PhD. At the RGS this could include curating an exhibition or developing collection-based learning resources. There are also opportunities to participate in public engagement activities at the RGS’s London headquarters or through its Midlands branch. The student will be supported in a range of other professional development opportunities, including networking, publishing, public talks and blogging.

The Applicant

Applicants should have a good undergraduate degree and have finished, or be working towards, a Master’s degree (or equivalent professional experience) in history, literary studies, human geography or similar fields, and have experience in analysing (historical) sources. Familiarity with the history of travel and/or the British empire is an advantage, as is a demonstrated ability to communicate research to a range of different audiences.

The panel would be interested to hear about ideas for potential events, workshops or other outreach activities that could be connected to this project. The candidate should use their application to outline the ways in which their research interests complement some of the core questions and ideas underpinning the project.

Applications should be made via the Midlands4Cities portal: https://www.midlands4cities.ac.uk/apply/

The project is listed on the M4C website at https://www.midlands4cities.ac.uk/find-a-project/

Deadline: 13 January at 12:00 noon (UK time).

Please note that a separate application must also be made to the PhD programme of the Warwick History department by the deadline: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/research/