The University of Edinburgh - School of History, Classics and Archaeology

PhD Studentship: School of History, Classics and Archaeology
<https://hca.ed.ac.uk/prospective-postgraduates/our-degrees-our-students/our-degrees/phd-programmes/phd?utm_source=Jobs.ac.uk&utm_medium=PhDCampaign&utm_campaign=UoE-HCA-PG25>
Our School
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh is one of the great world centres for the study of the human past. By studying with us, you will be joining one of the most respected institutions of its kind in the world, with an international reputation for high-calibre teaching and research.
The University of Edinburgh is consistently ranked one of the best 50 universities in the world and is 12th in the 2024 QS World University Rankings for Arts and Humanities.
Our Programmes
The PhD is a 3-year (full-time) or 6-year (part-time) programme, leading to a dissertation of 80-100,000 words on an original topic, researched and written under the expert supervision of academic staff. We also offer a PhD by Distance mode of study for students who wish to study remotely and whose project and experience allows them to do so.
We offer PhDs in:

  *   History
  *   Economic and Social History
  *   Scottish History
  *   Classics
  *   Archaeology
History:
The size of Edinburgh's history department, and the breadth of expertise available, means that we can offer supervision for research projects in a wide array of fields, spanning two millennia and five continents.
We have particularly strong research concentrations in Scottish history, history of the Americas, African history, Second World War Studies, British and Irish history, social and economic history, and medieval history.
We are also keen to encourage applications from prospective doctoral students in the following research areas:

  *   Global and Transnational History
  *   Intellectual history of early modern Europe
  *   History of Gender and Sexuality
  *   Material Culture and History
Classics:
Edinburgh's Classics department is one of the largest in the UK, and we welcome applications for all areas of Classical studies: Greek and Latin literature and thought, Greek, Roman and Byzantine history, Classical art and archaeology. Among areas of particular strength are Greek literature and the emotions, Greek political history, slavery in the Greek and Roman world, Roman and Late Antique archaeology, Late Antique literature, and Byzantine history.
We are also keen to encourage applications from prospective students in the following research areas:

  *   Ancient Law
  *   The Classical Tradition in Byzantium/the Medieval West
Archaeology:
Our research interests range span the whole human past from the Stone Age up to the present day and range from late hunter-gatherers in Europe to the construction of sustainable cities in Africa. We have particular research interests in European prehistory, Mediterranean archaeology, osteoarchaeology, bioarchaeology, isotope geochemistry, coastal and marine archaeology, and cultural heritage studies. We are also keen to encourage applications from prospective doctoral students in the following research areas:

  *   Cultural Heritage and Community Engagement
  *   Scottish Archaeology
  *   Egyptology
Study
PhD students participate actively in our lively research culture through our groups and centres and through staff and student-led seminars. We have a number of cross-School research groups, including Intellectual History; Late Antique and Byzantine Studies; Histories of Gender and Sexuality; Global and Transnational; the History of Science, Medicine and Technology. We also have four Research Centres: The Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary History; the Edinburgh Centre for Global History; and the Centre for Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies, and the Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies.
The School provides training in research and professional skills, and PhD students also benefit from courses offered by the Institute of Academic Development, as well as the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. PhD students have access to dedicated study space in the School.
Funding
The School has access to a number of sources of PhD funding, including School Doctoral Scholarships, AHRC Scholarships within the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities, ESRC Scholarships within the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science and funding competitions within the University of Edinburgh. All of these are open to applicants for on-campus programmes, while PhD by Distance applicants can apply to School and College awards.
Funding<https://hca.ed.ac.uk/prospective-postgraduates/fees-funding/funding/phd?utm_source=Jobs.ac.uk&utm_medium=PhDCampaign&utm_campaign=UoE-HCA-PG25>
How to apply
To find out more about the research interests of our staff and to identify a potential supervisor, please consult our website<https://hca.ed.ac.uk/about-us/about-our-staff?utm_source=Jobs.ac.uk&utm_medium=PhDCampaign&utm_campaign=UoE-HCA-PG25>
Applicants must contact a potential supervisor before applying and name them on their application. All applicants will also be interviewed following their initial application. Further information is available from the Postgraduate Research Office: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.<Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.>


    

We are excited to announce the formation of a new CRASIS Network: Marginalised Groups: Giving Voice to Silenced Peoples in the Ancient World. This network aims to explore the experiences of historically underrepresented groups in antiquity.

• Mailing List: If you wish to join the mailing list and stay informed about meetings and events, please register here.
• Planning Meeting: The organisers will meet on 10 December, 15:00–16:00 to plan further activities. If you would like to join, please email Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein..

For more information, see the attached document outlining the network’s goals and themes:

CRASIS Network: Marginalised groups: giving voice to silenced peoples in the ancient world

Organisers:

Anna Moles (Archaeology) Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

Sofia Voutsaki (Archaeology) Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

Jacqueline Klooster (Classics) Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

Bart Danon (Ancient History) Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

About the Network

The study of ancient society has traditionally focused on the urban elites or the male citizens, and has neglected the women, the children or adolescents, the old people, the disabled or sick, the slaves and criminals, the foreign residents. This network aims to address this problem. While the situation is rapidly changing, with these groups receiving increasing attention, these discussions remain restricted to historical or literary evidence. However, in recent years, mortuary archaeology (the study of mortuary practices) and bioarchaeology (the study of human remains, and associated analytical techniques such as ancient DNA and biodistance analysis to establish genetic relations, or isotopic analyses to reconstruct diet or provenance) produce fascinating insights into the life and death of precisely these neglected categories. These new insights have not been incorporated so far into historical reflection on these ‘silenced groups’. Classicists and ancient historians make little use of (bio)archaeological information, while osteoarchaeologists are not always familiar with the complexities of the ancient world, or ignore the potential of texts, epigraphy, or imagery. As a result, the different disciplines hardly interact with each other, just at the moment when new questions are being asked and new methods introduced.

We want to make use of this network within the framework of CRASIS, as an interdisciplinary research institute, to bring together scholars from across the disciplines studying the ancient world, bridging the gap between these diverse disciplines and between the humanities and the sciences. Doing this through a CRASIS network also enables us to maximise the interdisciplinarity of our approach to marginalised peoples by bringing together a wide range of disciplines interested in ancient societies. Coming from the archaeological perspective, we acknowledge the importance of the growth of archaeological science, but we want to anchor methodological innovation in theoretical reflection and historical knowledge. Coming from the historical/textual perspective we are interested to learn how new archaeological methods can challenge, confirm or fill in the gaps in the discourses we find in ancient texts, both inscribed and literary/historiographical. Moreover, from a reception theories and cultural analysis point of view, we are also interested in seeing how and whether the new facts archaeology can obtain about silenced and marginalized groups will enter the public consciousness through popular science and pop culture. We can think for instance of the spate of popular books on the lives of women that is currently appearing (The Missing Thread, Dunn; Femina, Ramirez; Amazons, Mayor), that use archaeological findings to complete the lacunae in the historical record. Herein lies the strength of situating our research in the very well documented ancient Greco-Roman world where optimal integration of written, material, iconographic and bioarchaeological evidence can be achieved, and including reception scholars as well.

Meeting plans

A series of four meetings to discuss a selection of specific topics within the theme involving both the CRASIS network and external participants. We would like to focus on the status quo of research to-date on these topics, gathering bibliography and available evidence, and discuss how to progress in approaching future study of marginalised peoples and silenced groups in the ancient world. The meetings will take the format of a combination of talks, round-table discussions, student poster sessions, and collections tours. We would like to hear about the current research of those in the network relating to the theme but will also include a specifically student-oriented aspect to each meeting.

The four meeting topics:

1) Women and children

2) The elderly, infirm and disabled

3) The enslaved and criminals

4) Foreigners

We plan to include student activities into these meetings including (but not limited to):

• Student posters on a topic linked to the meeting’s theme.
• For our graduate students, to act as respondents to papers.
• A tour of the Human Osteoarchaeology Laboratory and Mediterranean Archaeology collections.
• Integrate student presentations in the new BA Roman slavery course.

Upcoming events

10 December: Planning meeting with the organisers but any interested parties are welcome (email Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.)

If you have questions, wish to propose a meeting, idea or speaker, or if you want to be placed on our mailing list, please send an email to Anna Moles Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.