Applications Open! Nineteenth-Century Matters Fellowship: University of Surrey 2019-20

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Nineteenth-Century Matters is an initiative jointly run by the British Association for Romantic Studies and the British Association for Victorian Studies. Now in its fourth year, it is aimed at postdoctoral researchers who have completed their PhD, but are not currently employed in a full-time academic post. Nineteenth-Century Matters offers unaffiliated early career researchers a platform from which to organise professionalization workshops and research seminars on a theme related to nineteenth-century studies, and relevant to the host institution’s specialisms. The focus should be on the nineteenth century, rather than on Romanticism or Victorianism.

For the coming academic year Nineteenth-Century Matters will provide the successful applicant with affiliation in the form of a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Surrey. The fellowship will run from 23 September 2019- 1 September 2020.

The successful fellow will particularly benefit from and contribute towards the University’s expertise in nineteenth-century literature, Neo-Victorian literature, theatre, mobility studies, and the visual arts. They will also be encouraged to become involved in the activities of the Victoriographies research group, a collection of researchers in the School of Literature and Languages and curators at Watts Gallery whose research focuses on the nineteenth century. Fellows will also benefit from the University’s close connections with Watts Gallery, that houses an impressive collection of nineteenth-century paintings and sculptures produced by the artist G.F. Watts and his wife, the designer and artist, Mary Watts.

This fellowship includes a University of Surrey e-mail address, and access to its library and electronic resources for the full academic year. There is no requirement to live in the Surrey area during this time. The primary purpose of the fellowship is to enable the successful applicant to continue with an affiliation and remain part of the academic community. It is a non-stipendiary post, and the fellow will need to support themselves financially during the academic year. The fellowship will, however, include up to three week’s accommodation at the University over the summer, where the fellow will be free to develop their research and make the most of Surrey’s archives and special collections. The fellow will also be financially supported by BAVS and BARS with the organising of a research and professionalization event on a theme relevant to Surrey’s collections and/or research interests. It is expected that the fellow will acknowledge BARS, BAVS, and the University of Surrey in any publications that arise from their position.

Application Process

Applicants should submit a CV with a two-page proposal of their research topic and event, and explain why they would benefit from the fellowship. These should be sent to Briony Wickes (briony.wickes@kcl.ac.uk) and Paul Stephens (paul.stephens@lincoln.ox.ac.uk).

The deadline for applications is Thursday August 22nd 2019 (23:59 GMT). Applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by Thursday August 29th 2019.

Past fellows are listed here.