The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is funding a three-year full-time PhD studentship in History with its core focus in the area of early to late-modern Scottish studies, supervised by Dr Alison Cathcart (History) and Dr Douglas Speirs (Mathematics and Statistics).
The studentship, with a start date of October 2013, covers a fee-waiver for those eligible for home/EU fees (2013/14 rates) and offers an annual stipend of £14,000 with an annual incremental increase. Applications are welcomed from students with a upper second or first class degree in History or a related subject and who have, or are currently completing, a Masters programme.
This project aims to explore the historical fishery of the north Atlantic, ranging from the waters around Scotland to the waters off Newfoundland (with a specific focus on Scotland), areas which saw increasing levels of fishing from the sixteenth century onwards. This coverage of regions on both sides of the Atlantic will allow for effective comparative studies to be made. Grounded in empirical research, the successful candidate will utilise mathematical models to convert historical evidence into information regarding modern day fishing effort. As the core focus of this project is to examine the impact of fishing on the resource, the outcomes aim to inform current and future debates regarding the sustainability of fishing. Critical to this project is the need to accurately and reliably translate the historical data into information relating to fishing effort. This will require the development of suitable quantitative models of the data, thereby necessitating input from a data modeling, as well a historical, perspective.
As this research will be firmly grounded in empirical research palaeographical skills and knowledge of the field of early and/or late modern Scottish history will be advantageous although not essential as training can be provided. In addition, training in mathematical and data modelling will also be provided.
For informal enquiries please contact Dr Alison Cathcart (a.cathcart@strath.ac.uk) or Dr Douglas C. Speirs (d.c.speirs@strath.ac.uk).
For further details and information on how to apply please contact:
HaSS Graduate School, Lord Hope Building Level 1, LH128, University of Strathclyde, 141 St James Road, Glasgow, G1 0LT.
t: 0141 444 8455
NB. Applications are requested to upload an example of writing of no more than 3,000 words in length when applying.
Deadline for the receipt of completed applications is 5pm (BST), Friday 26 July 2013.