AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP): PhD studentship for Acquiring the Mediterranean: Exploring Local Agencies in the Acquisition of Antiquities from Greece and the Ottoman Empire by Charles Newton at the British Museum, 1861-1886

Applications are invited for an AHRC CDP doctoral studentship offered by the Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme, to start in October 2024.

The studentship will be based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, and the British Museum (Department of Greece and Rome). The successful applicant will be supervised by Dr. Yannis Galanakis (ig298@cam.ac.uk), Associate Professor in Classics, and Dr. Thomas Kiely (TKiely@britishmuseum.org), A.G. Leventis Curator for Ancient Cyprus and Curator for the Aegean Bronze Age, Department of Greece and Rome.

This PhD studentship offers a unique opportunity to develop museum and archive skills for career development though work experience and research. It allows the successful student to explore in detail the acquisition of ancient Mediterranean artefacts by the British Museum from Greece and the Ottoman Empire in the later nineteenth century with a central focus on the role of local agents (from antiquities dealers to village diggers), drawing on the Museum's extensive archival and object collections. It is rooted in objects and their associated, yet largely unexplored, archival documentation from the period of Charles Newton, a central figure in the formation of the British Museum's Mediterranean collections. Adopting a comparative European framework, it aims to reconstruct the personal and commercial networks in operation, to examine the socio-cultural and economic history of the trade, and to explore the choice and mechanisms guiding the acquisitions for the collection.

The studentship competition is fully open to both home and international applicants. We particularly encourage applications from diverse academic trajectories.

Funding:

The CDP doctoral training scheme funds a full-time studentship for 4 years or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 8 year. The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees (£4,786 for 2024/25). The fee gap between home and overseas rates will be covered by the University through internal co-funding for international candidates.

The CDP studentship will provide an annual maintenance grant to cover living costs (£20,837 for 2024/25 + £1000 London allowance + £600 CDP allowance). The successful applicant will also have access to research funding at the University of Cambridge and the British Museum.

Application process:

Applications will need to be made through the University Graduate Application Portal: www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/clclpdpcl Whilst making your online application, please make it clear that you are applying for the project 'Acquiring the Mediterranean' and indicate the University supervisor (Dr. Yannis Galanakis).

Informal enquiries about the project should be directed to the University supervisor (ig298@cam.ac.uk). For general, application-related, enquiries please email Mrs Lina Undicino (graduate.secretary@classics.cam.ac.uk).

The application deadline is Friday 7^th June 2024 and interviews are planned for Thursday 20^th June 2024, subject to change.

Further details:

www.classics.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.classics.cam.ac.uk/files/acquiring_the_mediterranean_phd_details.pdf Please quote 'Acquiring the Mediterranean' on your application and in any correspondence about it.

Please quote reference GE41599 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

We want to encourage the widest range of potential students to apply for this studentship and are committed to welcoming students from different backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Advert information