PhD Studentship (AHRC NWCDTP CDA) - The Mind-Body Connection: Health Outcomes for Child Refugees During and after the Spanish Civil War (1937-2023)’

Institution: Lancaster University

Start date: October 2024

Closing date for applications: February 18, 2024

Interview dates: 6 and 11 March 2024

Supervisors: Dr Stephanie Wright (Lancaster University), Professor Corinna Peniston-Bird (Lancaster University), and Dr Mercedes Peñalba-Sotorrío (Manchester Metropolitan University)

CDA partner: Carlisle Archive Centre

Applications are invited for an AHRC NWCDTP Collaborative Doctoral Award studentship (History pathway), to be held at Lancaster University’s Department of History, in partnership with the Carlisle Archive Centre (CAC). This PhD project will use a body-centred approach to reevaluate the history of the Basque refugees through their own bodily experiences. The CDA student will develop a PhD thesis on the health aspects of the children’s stay in the UK, drawing on rich new documentation now available at the CAC, while gaining valuable heritage skills that will stand them in excellent stead in their professional lives beyond the PhD. In 2023, the CAC received a large deposit of previously unexplored archival material relating to the Spanish refugee children evacuated to the Northwest of the UK. As well as a large cache of material on the children’s homes at Brampton and Ambleside, this collection also included the archives of Wilfrid Roberts, Liberal MP for North Cumberland, who was heavily involved in coordinating British support for the refugees during the SCW. The CAC will support a doctoral student to work through this material to write their PhD thesis, and to develop three main public engagement outcomes:

• Heritage mapping: the student will identify and map the archival holdings of the refugee children of the SCW in the North West of the UK, opening new avenues of research, and facilitating collaborative work with other heritage holders;
• Online public engagement: the production of promotional materials, including short youtube documentaries and study resources that the archive will use to further engage the public and expand its audiences and users;
• Engagement with the community: the student will help to develop the CAC’s current engagement with local refugee groups and schools, contributing to the development of educational materials and workshops aimed at these audiences.

The student will thus finish the PhD with a skill set suitable for potential future employment in History, as well as the heritage and commercial sectors. The project scope and questions may be adapted according to the student’s research interests and prior experience, and applicants are encouraged to discuss how they would make the project their own in their letter of application.

Nature of funding

– Academic fees for 3.5 years;

– Maintenance Stipend for 3.5 years (the annual maintenance stipend for 2023-24 is £18,662)

– Additional funding for research support and training available from both the NWCDTP and the LU History Department.

More details on this opportunity, including how to apply, can be found via the ‘Apply’ button above. Informal enquiries about the project from prospective applicants are welcome and should be directed to Dr Stephanie Wright at [email protected] .