[Commlist] Funded PhD - From Gaza to Belfast: Digital Visual Storytelling

Applications are open for one fully funded PhD at Ulster University. 
Details of project and funding below.

 From Gaza to Belfast: Digital Visual Storytelling

_Project Summary_

This research project investigates how digital visual narratives of the 
Palestinian conflict travel through mainstream and social media, with a 
specific focus on Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, symbolic alignments are highly visible: Palestinian 
flags frequently fly in Catholic-Nationalist-Republican communities, 
while Israeli flags appear in Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist areas. 
Following the events of October 7th 2023, with the outbreak of violence 
that escalated rapidly, the phrase “watching a genocide in real time” 
emerged as a powerful framing of global digital culture.
In Northern Ireland, where collective memory and historical trauma 
demand immense care, the profound responsibility of shaping public 
understanding and inter-community relations rests not only with media 
outlets, organisations, and creators, but with the specific content 
being shared and circulated across local networks.
To address these challenges, applicants for this project may ask the 
following questions:

  * How do digital visual narratives of the Palestinian conflict travel
    to Northern Ireland?
  * Which specific stories are circulated by local society?
  * How do local political and cultural factions in Northern Ireland
    recontextualise Palestinian visual imagery to reinforce their own
    narratives?
  * What visual tropes, formats, and platforms define Palestinian
    "digital resistance" and alternative storytelling?
  * In what ways do these alternative digital narratives challenge or
    disrupt dominant mainstream media frameworks?
  *
    How can alternative visual storytelling frameworks be deployed to
    foster peace across both contexts?

_Funding_
PhD Scholarships are available for this project and will cover:

  * Tuition fees.
  * A maintenance allowance of approximately £22,000 (exact rate is to
    be confirmed) per annum for three years, subject to satisfactory
    academic performance.
  * A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of approximately £900 per
    annum.

For full information, including essential and desirable criteria, and 
eligibility, please see the Ulster University Doctoral College website 
<https://www.ulster.ac.uk/doctoralcollege/find-a-phd/34-communication,-cultural-and-media-studies,-library-and-information-management/1904207> 


Deadline for applications: Friday 8 January 2027, 4:00PM

For further queries, please contact either Dr Marianna Espinós Blasco 
((M.Espinos_Blasco /at/ ulster.ac.uk)) or Dr Giuliana Monteverde 
((g.monteverde /at/ ulster.ac.uk)).

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