New doctoral studentship at Birkbeck on brainwashing, culture, clinical knowledge and human sciences in the Cold War



The Birkbeck History, Classics and Archaeology Department is pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded three-year doctoral grant to work on a project that falls within the scope of Professor Daniel Pick's five year senior investigator award, entitled ‘Hidden Persuaders? Brainwashing, Culture, Clinical Knowledge and the Cold War Human Sciences, c. 1950-1990’. The doctoral studentship will be supervised by Professor Daniel Pick and is funded by the Wellcome Trust. It includes some travel funds to attend conferences and consult key archives abroad. The team consists of the principal investigator, two post-doctoral researchers and three doctoral students as well as visiting scholars.


Further details of the project and its various research strands can be found on the Hidden Persuaders website http://www.bbk.ac.uk/hiddenpersuaders/
and an online profile of Professor Daniel Pick and the project http://blog.wellcome.ac.uk/2014/06/30/research-spotlight-prof-daniel-pick/


If you know of students who might be suitable for the doctoral award please alert them. And if you have a particular interest in this field please let me know and I will add you to the distribution list for future events.


Applications will be considered from candidates working on any geographical region, so long as the topic lies within the range of themes covered by the Hidden Persuaders project as is indicated above.


Successful applicants are likely to have: first class honours at undergraduate level and/or a distinction at a masters level; a clearly crafted historical project; strong references; and an ability to work as part of a project team, assisting in the organization of conferences, a website, a film and roundtables, in addition to completing an individual research dissertation.


To apply, please consult the general guidance on how to apply for an MPhil/PhD place in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/history/prospective-students/phd-mphil/how-to-apply-for-phd-mphil-study
All prospective students are strongly advised to first make contact with Professor Daniel Pick via email at d.pick@bbk.ac.uk. Please note that applicants are also required to submit two references and a writing sample (maximum length 5000 words).


The deadline for applications is 1 July 2015. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held in mid-July. There is some flexibility about the start date of the doctoral project, and applicants should indicate whether they prefer a start date of October 2015, January 2016, April 2016, or October 2016.