Coventry University and the Herbert Art Gallery are pleased to announce a fully-funded PhD scholarship to recover the library and cultural history of Coventry’s early modern grammar school. Founded in 1545, Coventry’s original grammar School building still stands in the heart of the city centre. The School housed a library of national significance, yet it has never been systematically studied.
The successful applicant will use archival and historical methodologies to reveal the story of the School. Working closely with Coventry Archives and Cambridge University Library, the doctoral candidate will apply palaeographical and bibliographical skills to investigate the extensive sources from the School. These include early modern books that were held by the library and now reside in Coventry Archives, as well as a catalogue and donors’ book from the seventeenth century. The successful applicant will collaborate with local heritage and cultural institutions clustered in the city centre, including Coventry Archives, the Grammar School building, King Henry VIII School, and Holy Trinity Church that hold artefacts from the School.
The successful applicant will communicate the newly-discovered significance of the School to the public using multiple platforms, contributing to the exciting national focus on Coventry heritage as part of the City of Culture 2021. Part of this dissemination will take the form of a digital humanities project, working with the original books from the library, the catalogues, and the school building. Experience in digital humanities is desirable but not essential.
On top of the tuition fee bursary and stipend, the scholarship comes with a training allowance of up to £2850. To augment their existing skills in reading early modern handwriting, the successful candidate will complete a palaeography course and a one-week intensive training course at Rare Book School (Virginia, US) in handling early modern books. At the Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities, the doctoral researcher will become a member of the Early Career Network, embedding them with more than thirty high-quality doctoral researchers. They will participate in the ‘Cultural Memory’ research strand, led by Professor Juliet Simpson. This collaborative and interdisciplinary research agenda will support the project, particularly its emphasis on heritage and regional partnerships.
The PhD researcher will be supported by a team of internationally-significant academics, including: Dr Alice Leonard, (Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities), Professor Patricia Phillippy (Executive Director, Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities), Victoria Northridge (Coventry Archives), Professor Jacqueline Cawston, (Co-Director of the Centre for Postdigital Cultures), and Professor Paul Botley, Professor of English Literature, University of Warwick.
Ideally, applicants will hold a 1st class or high 2:1 degree and an MA with merit or distinction (or international equivalent) in English Literature or a related field.
We particularly welcome applications from women candidates, and candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds. It may be possible to take up the scholarship on a part-time basis. To find out more about the project or have an informal discussion about making an application, please contact Dr Alice Leonard at alice.leonard@coventry.ac.uk.
Funding
£16,062, per year. Stipend rates will be equivalent to those set by UKRI and will rise annually with a projected average increase of 1.25% per year. Up to £2850 for training purposes.