Toynbee Hall is a community organisation that pioneers ways to tackle poverty and inequality. It was founded by students at Oxford University in 1884, as the first university settlement house.
We support and empower minoritised & disenfranchised communities to speak on issues and experiences that impact them, providing access to free advice and support services and conducting research on issues around social inclusion, financial inclusion, and wellbeing. We have been a catalyst for social reform in the UK for over 130 years to build a fairer and happier society.
As part of Toynbee Hall’s commitment to dismantling existing structural inequalities, we are keen to recontextualise the history of both our institution and the wider settlement movement. As such, we are developing a heritage research project that will explore and critically analyse Toynbee Hall as the world’s first settlement and how this movement expanded and influence social reform. We would also like to identify and map international thinkers that may have influenced our founders’ (Samuel and Henrietta Barnett) thinking in the 20th century. Through this micro-internship, you will delve into both the Toynbee archives and wider public resources to research these topics, in particular identifying and highlighting hidden stories. These findings will directly inform our heritage work that looks to reframe this history.
Your research will cover:
Recontextualising the Settlement Movement
International influences on Toynbee Hall and its radical social reform.
You will be directly supervised by the When We Speak Programme Manager. You will be given the opportunity to attend any staff meetings that may be scheduled during the internship.
At the end of the internship, you will have produced a summary detailing your findings. You will develop an engaging presentation to feedback your findings to the wider Toynbee Hall team. This research will be invaluable in developing our wider work on addressing and reframing this history. The micro-internship will give you the opportunity to gain demonstrable experience in archival research, and an insight into our community based charitable organisation.
Candidates will be considered from any academic discipline. Candidates with an interest in heritage, archives, the settlement movement, and decolonising heritage is desirable. You will further need to demonstrate:
Good research skills
Good written communication skills
A strong ability to work independently
Further details & how to apply
Application closing date: Monday 9 May, 2022, midday.
Reference ID: 2JGGY
Monday 20 – Friday 24 June 2022. Please note that the Employer is unable to accommodate another week.
Students are required to commit to the full micro-internship - as with any professional placement - and any concerns about dates should be raised with the Internship Office in advance of making an application.
