NUAcT PhD Studentship – Ecocritical Art History

Award Summary

A tax-free stipend paid monthly of £18,622 per year, for up to 3 years (or part time equivalent) plus 100% Home fees covered. Successful international students will be required to make up the difference between Home and international fees. 

Overview

The Department of Fine Art invites applications for a doctoral studentship within the area of ecocritical and environmental art history. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop their own research project in relation to this broad topic. Their research will be supervised by Dr Olga Smith and will relate to her research within the framework of Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Fellowship on the representations of landscapes in contemporary art, and ecocritical approaches in art history. The aim of this research is to establish a theoretical and aesthetic meeting point for art historical study and the burgeoning concentration of research in environmental humanities. As such, this PhD post is open to applicants from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including, but not limited to, art history, art practice, philosophy and critical studies, environmental studies, and heritage studies.  

Possible PhD topics may include, but are not limited to:  

• Issues of environmental interrelation, sustainability, and justice in artistic practices 
• Ecocritical methodologies in the study of art (including ecofeminism, multispecies and queer ecologies, decolonial approaches) 
• The idea of ‘nature’ in art   
• Use of new imaging technologies (digital, installation, CGI, VR) in depicting physical environments  
• Environmental implications of art production and materials 
• Representations of landscapes  
• Climate migration 
• Planetary and local perspectives 

This opportunity will be best suited for a project with a focus on contemporary period, but proposals with a broader chronological focus will also be considered. Applicants working across national traditions and cognisant of the global impact of the issues of ecology are especially welcome. 

Newcastle University offers a welcoming and empowering research culture, and cross-disciplinary engagement, within the Institute for Creative Arts Practice, Newcastle University Anthropocene Research Group, and Centre for Landscape, and has close links to creative venues and arts organisations in Newcastle and the North East, both in rural and urban contexts. The post holder will have the opportunity to draw on a wide range of cross-disciplinary expertise with the support of the supervisory team.  

Number Of Awards: 1

Start Date

September 2024 (or shortly thereafter with the agreement of the supervisor).

Award Duration: 3 years

Application Closing Date: 28 March 2024 

Sponsor

Newcastle University’s NUAcT (Newcastle University Academic Track) scheme 

Supervisors: Dr Olga Smith 

Eligibility Criteria

You will require a working knowledge of art and art history and to have achieved Merit or higher in a Master's degree in a relevant field before commencing the project (or a 2:1 in an undergraduate degree and professional experience in a field relevant to your proposed project).  

If English is not your first language, you must have IELTS 7.0 overall (with a minimum of 6.5 in all sub-skills).  

Home and international students are welcome to apply; however, we regret that the studentship only covers fees at the home rate. 

How To Apply

For information on how to apply, please see https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-funding/search-funding/?code=sacs031

Contact Details

For more information about the studentship please contact:

Dr Olga Smith  

olga.smith@ncl.ac.uk 

If you have any technical queries about submitting your application via the Apply to Newcastle Portal, please use our FAQs

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