AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Studentship on Reception of theStethoscope
Applications are now invited for this fully funded AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Studentship.
Making the Pulse: the Reception of the Stethoscope in nineteenth century Britain, 1817-1870.
The
University of Leeds Centre for the History and Philosophy of Science,
in collaboration with the Science Museum, invites applications for a
fully-funded three-year PhD
studentship on the reception of the stethoscope in Britain.
The
studentship award has been made by the Science Museums & Archives
Consortium under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme.
The project, due to begin in
October 2016, will be supervised by Dr Adrian Wilson and Dr Jonathan
Topham, at the University of Leeds, and by Dr Oisín Wall at the Science
Museum.
The
project student will explore the multiple channels of reception of the
stethoscope in Britain between 1817 and 1870. The beginning of the
stethoscope’s widespread use
is widely acknowledged as a foundational moment in the technologization
of medicine: little is known, however, about the specific mechanisms
through which they came to be accepted, and the different contexts in
which they were used and discussed. The project
will move beyond the existing focus of social histories of diagnosis by
exploring the whole range of practitioners involved in the making of
the nineteenth century stethoscope, including manufacturers, purchasers,
wholesalers, users, students and patients.
There
will be intensive periods of work at the Museum, particularly
associated with detailed work in the museum archives and stores, and
examination of the material collections
of the museum held in reserve collections offsite. During these periods
there will be very close advice and guidance given by Dr Wall and
supporting expert staff at the museum. This staff support will provide
informed access to the collections, and guidance
as the student progressively engages increasingly deeply with their
project. The student will also benefit from the collaboration over and
above a standard PhD programme by extending their 'skills set' and
improving their employability. Such skills include
curation, public dissemination, and event organization that may open
opportunities not just in museums and galleries, but also in the wider
creative industries sector.
At
the University of Leeds the student will join a thriving group of c. 25
PhD students in the history of science, technology and medicine,
several of whom are engaged in
collaborative doctoral projects with museums as the partner
institution. They will also be involved in the Centre for History and
Philosophy of Science, a very active research Centre within the School
of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. The centre
runs seminar series and reading groups, and also has its own innovative
Museum of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (whose
holdings include a Laennec-style stethoscope), with which the student
may choose to become involved, thereby furthering
their museum skills.
The main contact and supervisor for this project is Dr Adrian Wilson. For further particulars please email:
A.F.Wilson@leeds.ac.uk.
A full project description is available at
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/
The application deadline is 18 April 2016.