AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Studentship opp.: Beaming the British Empire Recibidos x
The studentship
Applications
are invited for an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award with the
University of Exeter and BT Archives to research and study the origins,
development and impact of the Imperial Wireless Chain, the global
network of shortwave radio stations that reputedly played a critical
role in British colonial integrity from the 1920s to the 1940s.
This
project focuses on one of the most extraordinary milestones in the
history of global telecommunications and represents an exciting
opportunity
for students with backgrounds in the history of science, technology,
and modern British and imperial history. First conceived by Guglielmo
Marconi in 1906 to use long-wave transmitters, the Imperial Wireless
Chain (IWC) was postponed following a political
scandal and the outbreak of the First World War. In the early 1920s,
and at some financial risk, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company
developed its innovative ‘beam’ short-wave system and this was
eventually adopted by the British government for the IWC.
The first pair of ‘beam’ stations opened in Britain and Canada in 1927
and within a few years similar stations followed in Australia, India,
New Zealand, South Africa and South America. It soon became one of the
most widely used forms of long distance communication
in the British empire and posed such a threat to the ageing submarine
cable business that had constituted the ‘nervous system’ of the British
empire that the British government was eventually forced to amalgamate
the newer and older forms of telegraphy into
one of the largest telecommunication firms of the 1930s: Cable and
Wireless. Despite its importance, the history of the Imperial Wireless
Chain has not been the subjects of systematic scholarly study.
The
overall aim of the project is to plug this significant gap in the
secondary literature, but there is much scope within this project for
the post
holder to develop their own research questions. Among the areas that
might be explored are: the role of the IWC in fostering or obstructing
technical developments in wireless and radio, including those not
associated with Marconi and his business; how IWC
stations around the globe were constructed and operated; the role of
the IWC in encouraging the emergence of local cultures of professional
and amateur wireless activity; differences in perceptions of the IWC in
different British colonies and dominions; the
conflicts between and alignments of the diverse interests involved in
the scheme, including the commercial, political, legal, scientific and
technological; the successes and failures of the IWC as an instrument of
British imperial and colonial integrity.
All these questions will be underpinned by a critical knowledge of
historical and sociological interpretations of technology and a critical
perspective on the IWC that questions the extent to which the scheme as
a whole, and Marconi’s specific proposals for
it, were necessarily seen as improvements on existing systems of global
communication.
The
most important relevant collections of research materials are at BT
Archives (London), Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (Cornwall), the Bodleian
Library
(Oxford), the British Library (London) and the Institution of
Engineering and Technology (London).
The
project offers exciting opportunities for students considering careers
in the archives and museums sectors. The successful applicant will be
spending a considerable amount of time in BT Archives where they will
be studying some of the collection’s underexplored and uncatalogued
materials and gaining experience of professional archive management and
public engagement activities associated with BT
Archives and the Science Museum. They will also be expected to present
aspects of their research in workshops, seminars and conferences
organised by the University of Exeter, BT Archives and the Science
Museum. Since much of the research for this project
will take place in London it is not necessary for the post holder to
live in or near Exeter.
The
dissertation supervisors are Dr Richard Noakes and Professor Richard
Toye (University of Exeter) and Mr. David Hay (BT Archives, London).
The
successful applicant will also receive support from Ms. Bergit Arends
and Dr. Alison Hess at the Science Museum.
Entry criteria
We invite applications from
candidates with a strong academic background in geography, modern
history, the history of science or other relevant discipline. Successful
applicants should normally
have a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent),
and have obtained, or are currently working towards a Masters degree at
Merit level, or international equivalent that satisfies the AHRC’s
eligibility requirements for advanced research
training (see http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/
Please note that the award is
subject to the AHRC’s terms, to which applicants should refer before
applying (see the Research Funding Guide at the bottom of this page on
the AHRC website
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Funding-
Ho to apply
Applicants should complete an
online web form and upload a full CV, a sample
of recent work and details of two referees and, if relevant, proof of English language proficiency,
by 17 March 2017.
Applicants should ensure that the referees email their references in the form of a letter to the Postgraduate Administrator at
humanities-pgadmissions@
It is anticipated that shortlisted
candidates will be notified at the end of March and that interviews will
take place in April. The interviews will take place in the Science
Museum.
More information
If you have any queries or would like to discuss this opportunity before applying, please contact Dr. Richard Noakes at
r.j.noakes@exeter.ac.uk.
If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact:
Postgraduate Administrator at:
humanities-pgadmissions@
College of Humanities Graduate School, University of Exeter
Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive
Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QH
Visit http://humanities.exeter.ac.