PhD Studentship - M4C CDA - Editing Empire: The Hakluyt Society in (Post) imperial Britain, 1846 to the Present

Funding Details:

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 number of Funds to support research activities. See please webpage link for details.

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.

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.

To apply, please click on the ‘Apply’ button above.

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