Durham University’s Department of English Studies, in partnership with the British Library, is delighted to offer a fully-funded full-time or part-time PhD studentship via the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme. The start date will be January 2021. The successful applicant will be supervised by Dr Venetia Bridges at Durham and co-supervised by Dr Peter Toth at the British Library.
In the last two millennia, Alexander the Great has been represented as a magician, scientist, statesman, philosopher and as one of the greatest explorers of humankind. The British Library’s vast collection of materials relating to the legend of Alexander provides an exceptional opportunity for PhD research into his immense impact on European literary culture from a transnational and multilingual perspective. As a student at Durham but working on the British Library’s collections, the successful applicant will also be involved in the development and curation of a major new exhibition at the Library focusing on the stories and legends around Alexander.
Applicants are invited to propose a multilingual and comparative project on the theme of Alexander’s reception from Late Antiquity to the close of the Middle Ages (300BC-1500AD) in European contexts, with a particular focus on the well-known Alexander Romance. Projects should make use of material in more than one language, and of the Library’s collections.
For more details, please download the project description and further particulars. The deadline for applications, including references, is 5pm on 29 May 2020. Dr Bridges is happy to receive informal enquiries via email (venetia.r.bridges@durham.ac.uk).
Research Assistantships
The Department regularly sets up several small Research Assistantships, partly to offer research students in Durham training in subject specific skills. Research Students are paid (£300-500) to help with the research project of a member of staff.
Self-funding
Many of our students are able to combine study with part-time work. The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre is able to help students to find and apply for local jobs in and around Durham and Stockton.
For Taught students from the UK, who are studying full time and self-financing, the University offers the opportunity to apply for a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan of up to £7,000, to cover the cost of fees.
Further Information
For all further enquiries about applying for admission and applying for the funding schemes, please contact english.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk. See the University's central Postgraduate Funding pages for other ways of financing your studies.
