Leeds: 2 PhD studentships in history, philosophy and social studies of biology
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
CENTRE FOR HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
2 AHRC COLLABORATIVE PHD STUDENTSHIPS IN THE HISTORY,
PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL STUDIES OF BIOLOGY
Two AHRC-funded PhD studentships are available from 1
October 2013 for collaborative research between the Centre for History and
Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds, and the National Institute for
Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
Both studentships are connected with the project “Food
Security in the Biotech Age: The National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Since 1970.” Founded in 1919 and based
in Cambridge, NIAB has been at the forefront of seed testing and the development
of crop-plant varieties in Britain for nearly a century. (Its role in the development of a new variety
of "superwheat" received major media coverage only last week; see,
for the BBC's story, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22498274
)
A previous AHRC award funded PhD research, now nearing
completion, on the history of NIAB from 1919 to 1969.
One of the new sub-projects aims to take the historical
story of NIAB forward into the biotech age, from 1970 to the present. The other sub-project aims to examine NIAB
now as a complex scientific-technological institution, using methods from
recent anthropology, sociology, and philosophy of science. In both, the project students will have
significant scope for developing the projects in directions suited to their
interests.
In more detail:
(1) Biotech Meets Agricultural Botany: NIAB Since 1970
This project will draw on a mixture of archival sources
held at NIAB and interviews with participants to reconstruct the intellectual
and institutional development of NIAB in the biotech age – a crucial period in
the Institute’s history as well as in the wider history of the biological
sciences. It aims to recover a novel
perspective on the rise of biotech and the debate over GM crops in Britain, and
more generally on the changing relations between science, commerce, and the
British state after 1970.
(2) Science as Social Epistemology: NIAB as a Site of
Knowledge Production
This project will draw on perspectives from recent
philosophy, sociology and anthropology of science in order to map out the many
groups involved in research at NIAB, and the complex dynamics within and among
them, through a combination of “embedded” participant-observation in the
working life of NIAB and through interviews with staff members. The project
student will use this new mapping to test a range of recent theses about the
nature of twenty-first-century scientific knowledge.
The supervisors for both projects will be Prof. Gregory
Radick (Leeds HPS) and Dr Tina Barsby (CEO, NIAB). The students will be expected to create
virtual exhibits of project-related materials and also to contribute to local,
national and international meetings.
In developing their research and the associated
activities, they will be able to draw on the support not only of the Leeds HPS
Centre and NIAB, but also of the White Rose Science and Technology Studies
Network, which regularly brings together students and staff at the Universities
of Leeds, York and Sheffield who share interests in contemporary bioscience
(see http://www.york.ac.uk/satsu/dtc-sts-pathway/)
Enquiries may be directed to G.M.Radick@leeds.ac.uk<mailto:G.M.Radick@leeds.ac.uk>
Scholarship Funding
For both sub-projects, applicants must be either UK
residents (full studentship) or EU nationals (fees only). They should normally have, or expect soon to
be awarded, a Masters degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. history and
philosophy of science; science and technology studies; history, philosophy,
anthropology, or sociology with an appropriate focus; etc.), though exceptions
can be made for applicants with strong undergraduate records and relevant
experience. The studentships support
three years' full-time work, but can be taken up on either a full-time or a
part-time basis. Standard tuition fees
and maintenance grants will be paid by the AHRC to the nominated student. In the 2012/2013 academic year full-time
awards provided a maintenance grant payment of £13,590.00. In addition to these amounts, the AHRC will
make an additional, one-off maintenance payment of £550 in May to cover the
special costs of working at two sites. Students may also be eligible for UK study
visits and one overseas study visit as well as one overseas conference for the
duration of the award. From the
non-academic partner, NIAB, the student will also receive a contribution to
maintenance and may also be eligible for travel and related workplace
expenses. (Part-time awards provide a
maintenance grant up to a maximum of 60% of a full-time award and half the
full-time rate of tuition fees.) Renewal of the studentship each year is
subject to satisfactory academic progress.
Applications
Application forms and further details are available from
the Postgraduate Administration Office, School of Philosophy, Religion and
History of Science, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, email: humpgenq@leeds.ac.uk<mailto:humpgenq@leeds.ac.uk>,
tel: 0113 343 3644 or 0113 343 3623
The closing date for applications for both studentships
is Friday 14 June 2013. Interviews for
both studentships will take place the following week.
Please specify whether you are applying for sub-project
(1), sub-project (2), or for both.
For more on the University of Leeds Centre for History
and Philosophy of Science, see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/40006/centre_for_history_and_philosophy_of_science
For more on the National Institute of Agricultural
Botany, see http://www.niab.com/
Gregory Radick
Professor of History and Philosophy of Science School of
Philosophy, Religion and History of Science University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT,
UK
Tel: (UK) 0113 343 3269
Editor-in-Chief, Studies in History and Philosophy of
Biological and Biomedical Sciences