[ecrea] PhD studentships (2 posts): Comics and the World Wars - a cultural record

*FACULTY OF MEDIA AND HUMANITIES
University of Lincoln
*
*PhD studentships (2 posts) -- Full time*

Our successful Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Research 
Grants award has created an opportunity for 2 PhD studentships, for 
/Comics and the World Wars -- a cultural record. /This timely project, 
led by Professor Jane Chapman, asks the question: what is the 
contribution of the comic form to the cultural heritage of these global 
experiences & what different kinds of historical meaning emerge? The PhD 
studentships each have discrete areas of study, but also provide an 
opportunity for major contributions to research teamwork, publications, 
& two major international exhibitions.

*Post 1: Forgotten History - Gender and Ethnicity *(PhD1): the student 
will conduct a multi-faceted comparative study of representation and 
also scarcity of comics featuring (i) women and (ii) ethnic subjects, 
comparing comics' quantity and quality of female and race against 
contextual historical information. Examples could include The Daily 
Mirror's 'Jane at War' & The New York Daily News 'Brenda Starr', that 
can be assessed to determine kinds of representation (domestic versus 
war) and to explore how far the depiction of women is defined by sexual 
difference, testing the relevance of gender theory to comics study. 
Findings can be compared to actual records in documentaries, books and 
testimonies. A similar method can be used to gauge the accuracy, or not, 
of comics such as Chicago Defender's 'Speed Jaxon' and 'Sergeant Joe' in 
representing the social and political reality of the wartime position of 
blacks.

*Post 2: Heroes & enemies: reality and imagination* (PhD2)

The student will assess power, masculinity and psychological aspects of 
heroes and enemies in a comparative international content analysis. Do 
comics enhance notions of identity & ideology, or subvert them to 
transform the reading? What happens to historical meaning? Using a 
sample of Battle and Valiant's' Johnny Red' and 'The Red Baron', 
Marvel's 'Captain America', Warlord's 'Kampfgruppe Falken', and 
characters such as 'Braddock' and Mussolini in 'Schtroumpfissime', the 
student will assess British heroes and those of other nations to enquire 
why heroes are mythologized as strong whilst enemy personalities may be 
either weak or strong but flawed. The student will determine how comics' 
pictorial conventions support psychological and symbolic aspects of 
nationhood and masculinity. Gender theory and /or political theorists' 
ideas can be applied to notions of masculinity of heroes and enemies -- 
as winners or losers- in relation to nationhood, battle and war.

* *

*Skills, knowledge and experience required*

   * A good undergraduate or Masters degree. As this is an
     interdisciplinary project well-qualified candidates from a number
     of fields -- literature, history, art history, languages, visual
     theory and cultural studies will be considered.

   * Capacity for independent study.

   * Demonstrated competence in doing research.

   * A thorough reading knowledge of another European language would be
     desirable.

*Principal Accountabilities*

   * Develop, in conjunction with Prof. Jane Chapman, and carry out an
     individual research programme within the general outline given above.

   * Undertake other aspects of the /Comics & the World Wars /research
     programme as directed by Prof. Chapman, including team research
     and work for the exhibitions.

   * Attend research-related and other /Comics/ team meetings as required.

   * Contribute to the research culture of the Faculty through
     publications, seminar presentations of research, attendance at
     research seminars, and other relevant activities.

Deadline for applications: 31st July 2011.

Please send a CV and covering letter plus any supporting information and 
2 references to: (tosmith /at/ lincoln.ac.uk) <mailto:(tosmith /at/ lincoln.ac.uk)>

Interviews for both studentships will be held during August and Sept.