Postdoctoral Research Associate, 0.6 FTE, Fixed term

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join our English and Creative Writing team in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and join the 'Box Office Bears: Animal Baiting in Early Modern England' research team.

This 3-year project is funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Project Grant and led by Dr Hannah O’Regan (Humanities/ Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham), Dr Andy Kesson (English and Creative Writing, University of Roehampton) and Greger Larson (School of Archaeology, University of Oxford), and working with a brilliant team of post-docs: Dr Sophy Charlton, Dr Callan Davies, Dr Liam Lewis and Dr Lizzie Wright.

Animal baiting was one of the most popular entertainments in Shakespeare's England, yet it has rarely been studied, skewing our understanding of the audiences, recreation economy and popular culture of the period. The BOB project is addressing this through a unique combination of methods, from ancient DNA to performance workshops, leading to the first sustained and integrated study of early modern baiting as a discrete entertainment form.

The successful candidate will be based at Roehampton and line-managed by Dr Andy Kesson. They will contribute to and benefit from the project's wide interdisciplinarity, and support its impact and public engagement work. They will work with the project team to put the archaeological and archival evidence for animal baiting and the wider context of human-animal relationships into dialogue, contribute to and sometimes lead project dissemination, including (but not limited to) conference presentations, publications and public events, and co-organising and attending project team meetings and workshops.

For an informal conversation about the role, please email Andy Kesson on [email protected] .  

At Roehampton, we change lives by helping our students to develop the confidence, knowledge and adaptability they need for a successful graduate career and fulfilling life.

We are a supportive, close-knit and inclusive community, with a proud history in higher education stretching back more than 175 years. Our values come from this rich history, built on community, engagement and partnership, with a belief that no matter their background, we can help our students to realise their ambitions.  Our graduates today have excellent employment prospects, and are part of a thriving and diverse global community of Roehampton alumni.

We provide an engaging portfolio of courses across the creative arts, social sciences, law, humanities, literature, education, business, and human and life sciences, including nursing. We also have an excellent research profile. With international reach, our research informs policy, enriches culture and improves people’s lives. 

We are based on a beautiful 64-acre parkland campus, located in the heart of south-west London. Our staff have access to excellent facilities and a generous range of staff benefits.

To find out more information about the role and what we’re looking for, visit the Working at Roehampton section of our website where you will find full details, how to apply, as well as further information about the benefits of working for us. The University is an equal opportunities and ‘disability confident’ employer.

The University is committed to promoting diversity and equality of opportunity and aims to create a culture and environment where students and staff are treated fairly.

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Working-at-Roehampton/

The closing date for completed applications is: Monday 23 January 2023

It is expected that interviews will be held on: Tuesday 31 January 2023