[ecrea] Research Assistant Vacancy - Athena Swan Funded Project

Department of Social Sciences, Media and Communication
Brunel University London

Research Assistant for Athena SWAN Research Award funded project
Vacancy Ref:  IAE0029-1	
Part time (0.5 FTE), Fixed Term for 4 months
						
Grade: R1 Pro rata of £30,619 - £40,349 incl. of London Weighting


About the Project:
Animator as Crafts-Woman: An Examination of Lotte Reiniger’s Aesthetics
In 1926 German animator Lotte Reiniger released an early feature-length 
animated film; The Adventures of Prince Achmed was made over ten years 
prior to the release of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), 
the film often lauded as the first animated feature. The scissor 
artistry used by Lotte Reiniger in her fairy tale films creates an 
intricate, detailed aesthetic. Her method is usually considered as 
‘craft’; she is a ‘goddess of the scissors’ (Palfreyman, 2011, p. 16) 
producing ‘pretty pretty cut outs’ (Financial Times, 1936). This project 
scrutinises the language used to describe Reiniger’s work and 
comparatively examines whether similar language is used to describe 
other animators (both male and female), such as Kara Walker, who create 
similar aesthetics. The project then considers whether the language used 
to discuss filmmakers such as Lotte Reiniger, and/or scissor 
cut-out/silhouette or craft-based films, has a gendered bias. Historical 
analysis of the reception of Reiniger’s work can be usefully linked to 
more recent online engagement with her films; within the broader 
contexts of craft and ‘handmade’ aesthetics, this cross-cultural project 
takes into account scholarly reception, the press and public engagement 
with the aim of repositioning this underexplored artist in the field. 
Although Reiniger is by no means unheard of within the fields of 
animation and art, and to a certain extent within the public eye, she 
has received little attention relative to her extraordinary technical 
abilities; not only did she produce such an early feature length 
animation but she invented the first multiplane camera.
The project combines traditional literature review with historical 
archival newspaper research and data from recent website comments pages 
(such as on YouTube) in both English and German languages. This 
comprehensive methodology aims to identify whether these different focal 
points of reception have similar or different responses to Reiniger’s 
work, or indeed craft-based, handmade animation more widely; the project 
is cross-cultural, and compares historical data with contemporary data 
in its aim to gauge Reiniger’s reception.
About the role:
You will be responsible for gathering data from German language sources 
including press coverage, scholarly works and online comments. Some 
travel is required for gathering relevant data and it is anticipated 
that you will spend several weeks in Germany during the course of the 
project (all fully funded).
About you:
You will:
•	Be fluent in both German and English languages
•	Be studying for a PhD, preferably in German film and/or women’s 
studies/feminism and/or animation studies
•	Preferably have some experience of archival research


Closing date for applications:  11 December 2016

For further details and to apply please visit https://jobs.brunel.ac.uk/WRL/
For informal inquiries please contact Dr. Caroline Ruddell at:
(caroline.ruddell /at/ brunel.ac.uk)
It is anticipated that the project will begin as early as possible in 
the New Year.

*This position does not meet the salary criterion of a skilled job for 
Tier 2 sponsorship due to the part-time nature of the role.

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