PhD Studentship: Reinterpreting Ipswich Museum’s Collections

UEA and Ipswich Museum invite applications for a part-practice, part-theory PhD on ‘Reinterpreting Ipswich Museum’s Collections’. The PhD candidate will explore the history of collecting and collections in Ipswich Museum. Reviewing colonial legacies, the candidate will develop a specialisation in, for example, the Museum’s World Cultures collections, Natural History collections, or Egyptology collections. Researching objects and collections through a critical lens, the candidate will identify, uncover, and record new stories to help the Museum understand how and why to tell these stories. This PhD is expected to culminate in the candidate producing an exhibition, display or intervention in the Museum, which will constitute the practice component. The theory component will consist of a 40,000-50,000-word written thesis. The PhD will be hosted by the School of Art, Media and American Studies (AMA) at the University of East Anglia, located in Norwich, Norfolk. The candidate’s PhD is expected to contribute directly to an ongoing programme of reinterpretation at the Museum, which forms part of a major redevelopment project. The studentship is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). The studentship will cover the tuition fees of the candidate for four years (full time) and contribute towards research and travel expenses related to the PhD. The supervisors’ research areas are (1) cultural heritage studies and decolonisation; (2) anthropology and art history; and (3) museum and curatorial studies. The candidate will need to prepare a concise CV, two academic references, and a detailed outline of how they will engage this project, as part of UEA’s PhD admissions procedure. For further information, kindly email [email protected] .

Funding Details

This studentship project is being funded by the Ipswich Museum/Colchester Council.

Eligible full-time candidates will be considered for 4 years fees only PhD studentship. The tuition fees will be uplifted at the standard UKRI rates during the studentship and there will be additional expenses funds made available to cover costs in line with Research Council collaborative awards.