[ecrea] Studentship vacancy

TWO 3-year DPhil studentships to be held EITHER in the FACULTY OF MUSIC
OR in the SCHOOL OF ANTHROPOLOGY & MUSEUM ETHNOGRAPHY
University of Oxford

Two DPhil studentships are available attached to the research programme ‘Music, Digitization, Mediation: Towards Interdisciplinary Music Studies’ directed by Prof. Georgina Born and funded by the European Research Council. The programme involves ethnographic studies of the transformation of musical practices by digital media in a number of countries. One DPhil student will work on an ethnographic study of digital music practices in the UK; the other DPhil student will work on an ethnographic study of digital music practices in India. The studentships will cover university and college fees, as well as a grant for maintenance.

Successful candidates will be registered either in the Faculty of Music or in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, depending on the exact nature of their thesis, and will be supervised by Professor Born. Candidates should be able to demonstrate considerable literacy in digital technologies and/or digital music technologies, and a strong interest in ethnographic research (although prior ethnographic experience is not necessary). Skills or a background in music, and in anthropological and social theory, would be helpful. They will be expected to have a good undergraduate degree and Masters degree in one or a combination of the following subjects: Music, Social Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Sociology, Media Studies. Those from cognate disciplines (eg Geography) may also apply. For the India study, existing language skills in Hindi are required.

Applications will need to be made using the graduate admissions procedure for 2010 entry. Applicants should apply for a DPhil in Music (course code 000920). If it is more appropriate for the successful candidate to be based in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, he or she will be transferred subsequently to the DPhil in Anthropology.  To access the application form and application guide please visit our online prospectus at www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/apply . On the application form, in the section headed ‘Departmental Studentship Applications’, you must indicate that you are applying for a studentship and enter the reference code for this studentship "10MUS01DIG".

Those interested in applying should first read the outline of the research programme, including the studies in the UK and India, on the Faculty of Music website at http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/research/musdig.html

Applications should include academic transcripts; two examples of written work produced for a Master’s degree (on any topic and of at least 2000 words each, to include, if available, a Master’s dissertation); a statement outlining why the applicant is interested in undertaking the study (either in the UK or India) and how he or she is qualified to undertake it (of between 500 and 800 words); a short c.v.; three academic references (referees should be asked to write or e-mail their references to the Graduate Admissions Office by 16 July 2010); and the application fee of £25.

The deadline for applications is 16 July 2010 and candidates should be ready to be called for interview on 29 or 30 July. Interviews will be held in Oxford; but for candidates outside the UK, interviews may be carried out by phone or Skype. It is expected that the successful candidate will take up the position on 1 October 2010.