[ecrea] PhD funding, QUB: 'Documentary, digital technologies and urban change in Brazil'

*PhD funding, Queen's University Belfast: 'Documentary, digital 
technologies and urban change in Brazil'*

One Department for Employment & Learning (DEL) Strategic Award is 
available for full-time postgraduate PhD research in the School of 
Modern Languages, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Queen's 
University Belfast.

Supervised by: Dr Tori Holmes (Lecturer in Brazilian Studies, School of 
Modern Languages) and Prof. Cahal McLaughlin (Professor of Film Studies, 
School of Creative Arts)

Despite a tradition of documentary scholarship in Brazil (oriented 
primarily to individual films and filmmakers) and the emerging body of 
work in English on digital documentary, there is only limited work on 
the role of digital technologies in the production and circulation of 
documentary material, understood broadly, in Brazil. By exploring the 
intersection of audiovisual and digital culture in Brazil, this project 
aims to address this gap.

The specific focus will be the role of audiovisual collectives. Whilst 
this type of grouping is not unprecedented in Brazil, given the 
country's rich history of grassroots/contestatory media production, 
audiovisual collectives have come to particular prominence as a result 
of the widespread Brazilian protests of 2013, ongoing conflicts about 
models of urban development associated with sporting megaevents, and the 
circulatory and interactive possibilities of digital media. The 
studentship is available to support research exploring the impact of 
such collectives on urban change in Brazil, asking what their role has 
been in documenting, debating, and giving visibility to this issue, and 
how this is enabled by digital technologies. Inspired by Whiteman's 
coalition model of documentary impact, proposals are sought which link 
digital audiovisual material to its production and distribution 
processes, the wider political context and the influence of audiovisual 
material in mainstream and non-mainstream discourses. Methodological 
innovation is encouraged, particularly in the development of a 
fieldwork-driven approach to these issues.

Native or near-native fluency in Portuguese and English is required for 
this studentship (if not a native speaker of Portuguese, candidates 
should have at least a 2:1 in an undergraduate degree with Portuguese as 
a key component), as well as an MA degree in a relevant area.

Eligibility: this studentship is available to UK and EU residents only; 
non-EU residents are not eligible for this scheme. UK residents are 
eligible for full fees and maintenance awards.  Other EU-resident 
(including Republic of Ireland) applicants are eligible for a fees-only 
award.

* *

*Candidates should apply via the university's Postgraduate Application 
Portal and submit a research proposal which addresses the theme of the 
studentship. For more information please see: 
http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofModernLanguages/Postgraduates/FundingOpportunities/ 
*

*Closing date for applications: 5pm on Friday 27 February*

* *

*Applicants must contact the lead supervisor, Dr Tori Holmes 
((t.holmes /at/ qub.ac.uk)) before submission. *


Dr Tori Holmes
Lecturer in Brazilian Studies
Department of Spanish & Portuguese
School of Modern Languages
9 University Square (Rm G02)
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland
Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 3632
Email: (t.holmes /at/ qub.ac.uk)
Web: http://www.qub.ac.uk/ml