Looking for PhD funding in 2020? Midlands4Cities are recruiting their next cohort of researchers to join the vibrant community in the Midlands! There is a lot to be excited about this year with 15 amazing collaborative doctoral projects and 94 studentships available! http://www.midlands4cities.ac.uk 

For full details and eligibility criteria please see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/cadre/prospectivestudents/scholarships/m4c

The Midlands Graduate School open competition for studentships commencing in October 2020 is now open! Deadline for applications is Wednesday 22nd January 2020. Please note that there are several elements to the application process and applicants should allow plenty of time to assemble all the information required.

The Midlands Graduate School DTP makes an annual award of a large number of studentships to outstanding applicants across the Social Sciences. The studentships are linked to disciplinary and inter-disciplinary training pathways, and some have a built-in element of collaboration.

For any students thinking of applying for AHRC Midlands4Cities funding to complete a PhD, an application workshop will be taking place on Saturday 16^th November at Coventry University. Details of the event can be found on the following page:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/midlands4cities-application-writing-workshop-coventry-tickets-76774172617

The workshops are aimed at potential students who are planning to submit an application for PhD research to Midlands4Cities. Practical advice will be given on how to plan your application and structure your research proposal.

You can attend any of the application writing workshops regardless of which M4C institution you are applying to.

We are excited to announce that the University of Warwick, together with Coventry University, is joining with the Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) consortium to create the Midlands4Cities AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) funded DTP.

The Midlands4Cities DTP will fund and train the next generation of highly skilled arts and humanities researchers through PhD Scholarships.

Our consortium partners are present in the four cities of Nottingham, Birmingham, Leicester and Coventry and are: University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, De Montfort University, University of Leicester, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and Coventry University.

For full details and eligibility criteria please see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/cadre/prospectivestudents/scholarships/m4c

The Peterloo Massacre took place on 16 August 1819 and is considered a landmark moment in the struggle for democracy in Britain. However, the number of people present at the Massacre may have been “significantly smaller” than previously thought, according to research by History PhD student Dave Steele.

The full article is available on the BBC HistoryExtra website.

The Warwick University History Department seeks to appoint a Postgraduate and Research Coordinator on a full-time indefinite contract.

The Warwick University History Department is one of the largest history departments in the UK, with teaching and research notable for its disciplinary range and geographical scope. The Department is comprised of 53 academic staff, 17 postdoctoral staff, 10 support staff, ~1,000 undergraduate students, and ~100 postgraduate students. The Department has a strong international reputation and high rankings in university guides and surveys, and was ranked first in the UK in the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) for the proportion of world-leading research activity (4*) in the Department. The Department is committed to maintaining and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion amongst its staff and student community.

We are seeking to appoint a Postgraduate and Research Coordinator, responsible for the management and coordination of the support for postgraduate study in the History Department, including direct support to the Director of PGR Studies and the Director of PGT Studies, and for contributing to the support for research in the History Department. The successful candidate will possess relevant experience of working in an office environment within the HE sector, excellent interpersonal skills, strong organisational and planning skills, and the ability to use initiative and to work quickly and accurately under pressure to cope with competing priorities.

All applications must be accompanied by a CV and covering letter. For the full advert, job description, and a link to the application form, please see the Warwick University HR website. Please direct all informal enquiries to Jennifer Spalding at J.J.Spalding@warwick.ac.uk.

The closing date for applications is Monday 8th April 2019.

 
Dear Warwick history students,

I was intending to write to you tomorrow to let you know that after five years serving as an outstanding head of department, Professor Dan Branch will be stepping down to become the Chair of the Faculty of Arts. I’ll be taking over as department head, and I wanted to say hello.

The need to write to you has however become much more urgent.

I am sure you are aware of the continuing and distressing situation resulting from last year's group chats. You may have seen the University’s official statement, as well as the multiple reports in the press. The department is deeply concerned about the impact of these recently-reported events on our community.

We in the department have tried hard to provide as much moral and academic support as we can to the individuals affected by this case. We will continue to work to limit its impact on the studies of the women involved, and also to provide the necessary structures to support this. This has been a priority since the incidents first came to light.

We also recognise the need to address the challenges posed to the department as a whole.

Although the department had absolutely no input into the disciplinary cases, and although we are bound by a legal requirement to uphold the confidentiality of all students involved, we feel a pressing need to make sure that our students have a chance to fully express their views on this case.

We are currently in discussion with the University with the aim of organising a series of meetings for you to meet with representatives from the administration who can answer questions about the situation and listen to your concerns. Your legitimate and very understandable unhappiness need to be addressed right now. We will also work to design the necessary mechanisms to ensure that next academic year is not blighted by the after-effects of the toxic events of last year.

When the case first received public attention last summer, Dan Branch wrote to all of you to stress the department’s commitment to supporting any student who experiences misogyny, racism, homophobia or any other form of prejudice. Any such behaviour is unacceptable and runs contrary to the ethos of the department. This commitment remains central to our principles as a community. Please contact your personal tutor or myself if there is anything that you wish to bring to our attention, whether that be something that you have been subjected to yourself or have witnessed.

I’ll be writing again as soon as I have details about the meetings we are hoping to set up.

Many thanks,

Rebecca Earle

On Tuesday 30th October the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland celebrated the life and work of the late Professor Sir Christopher Bayly FBA, with the award of the inaugural Bayly Prize and the posthumous launch of Sir Christopher’s book, Remaking the Modern World 1900-2015: Global Connections and Comparisons.

The Bayly Prize is for an outstanding doctoral thesis on an Asian topic completed at a British university in the year prior to the award. In this inaugural year the prize was presented to Dr Johannes Lotze for his thesis, Translation of Empire: Mongol Legacy, Language Policy, and the Early Ming World Order, 1368-1453. The shortlist of five for the prize included Dr Kyle Jackson, former PhD student at the University of Warwick History Department, and Dr Callie Wilkinson, former PhD student at the University of Cambridge and now Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Warwick History Department.

Kyle Jackson (University of Warwick) for Colonial Conquest and Religious Entanglement: A Mizo History from Northeast India (c. 1890-1920). The judges said: “This high-quality piece of historical research draws on indigenous language sources and deploys indigenous terminology to re-centre the history of North-eastern India. Dr Jackson has an eye for a good story, and the thesis is written in elegant and fluid prose, making it a pleasure to read.”

Callie Wilkinson (University of Cambridge) for The Residents of the British East India Company at Indian Royal Courts, c. 1798-1818. The judges said: “This work is distinctive because it refreshes the study of Residents and indirect rule in India by applying new historical methods to the subject. Dr Wilkinson provides us with a rich and nuanced picture of East India Company rule in the subcontinent that moves us away from the main centres of EIC power and beyond traditional subjects of historical study.​”

For more details, please see the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland announcement.