PhD Studentship - Parliamentary Empire: British Democracy and Settler Colonialism, c.1867-1939 History

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship as part of a Leverhulme funded project examining the role of Parliament in the UK and the settler-colonial 'British World' between the 1860s and 1930s, shedding light on the connected debates about democratic governance and political inclusion within a fractious British Empire.

Parliamentary Empire examines the role of Parliament in civic life in the UK and the settler-colonial 'British World' between the 1860s and 1930s. By exploring how different groups appealed to values of British parliamentarianism, we shed new light on the connected debates about democratic governance and political inclusion that characterised the emergence of nations within a fractious British Empire.

Our project takes up debates over political inclusion, participation, and deliberation across connected imperial contexts. Whereas existing studies focus on national histories, we undertake a systematic, archive-based study involving (among other sources) digitised newspapers, petitions to parliament, and records of parliamentary debates. These approaches will provide wider insight into how different audiences in the UK and the settler colonies understood and negotiated a shared parliamentary culture nonetheless crosscut by projects of exclusion and racial segregation.

We welcome applications from candidates with interests in nineteenth and twentieth century British imperial history; Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Southern African history; parliamentary history; women’s history; political history and the history of political cultures; and settler colonialism and its global challengers. Successful candidates will be required to produce a research proposal on a relevant topic across the project remit (c.1867-1939), such as parliamentary practices, debates about the citizenship of settlers or indigenous people, international assemblies, national and international women’s organisations, resistance to settler colonialism, and changing ideas of democratic self-government in the British Empire and connected spheres.

This Leverhulme Trust funded project is organised by colleagues based at the Departments of History at the Universities of Exeter and York. There are two PhD positions on the project, the York studentship has already been filled. Both students will receive joint supervision from Dr. Behm and Prof. Thackeray.