Supporting Postgraduates and Early Career Researchers has always been an important part of the remit of the British Association for Romantic Studies. We are currently inviting applications for appointment to the roles of Postgraduate Representative and Early Career Representative for BARS to cover, in the first instance, the next two years from summer 2024.
BARS Postgraduate Representatives
We are currently looking for a postgraduate student willing to join the Executive in order to represent our Postgraduate members and students in the field more generally.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Role:
During their term, the Postgraduate Representative will attend approximately four Executive meetings (typically online) and have the opportunity to co-organise postgraduate events. They will also work with the Early Career Representative to organise the next biennial Postgraduate and Early Career Researcher Conference, due to be held in 2025 and announced later this year.
The position offers valuable experience in conference organisation, logistics and communications, as well as excellent networking opportunities. Importantly, it provides the chance to help shape the Romantic studies community by feeding in to the Executive’s discussions and launching new initiatives to support postgraduates in the field. Past Postgraduate Reps have been instrumental in the launch of the BARS Digital Events series and co-editing special journal issues arising from the PGR/ECR conferences.
The Postgraduate Representative will serve for an initial term of two years: after this, there is the opportunity to apply to renew their position, according to their status of their studies or to apply for the role of Early Career Representative. Please note that BARS is offering a stipend of £750 per annum for this role; also, any travel expenses incurred for attending BARS Executive business onsite will be met by the Association.
Eligibility:
We are especially keen to receive applications from students who expect to have postgraduate status until the summer of 2026, although this is not required.
How to Apply:
Please send expressions of interest, together with a two-page CV including a brief description of your research, to the Secretary of the Association, Andrew McInnes, copying in the President, Anthony Mandal. The deadline for expressions of interest is midnight, 3 June 2024.
Expressions of interest should be up to 500 words in length, and should be accompanied by an up-to-date CV (of no more than two pages). We encourage applicants to discuss their experience, skills, and passion for the role in their expression of interest, and we would very much like to read of proposals applicants have for the location, topic and logistics of the next BARS PGR/ECR conference in 2025.
Depending on circumstances and context, the appointing panel will have discretion to propose up to two Postgraduate Representatives to the BARS Executive Committee, as has been the case in recent years.
If you would like to discuss the position further, please feel free to get in touch with:
Cleo O’Callaghan Yeoman (current Postgraduate Representative) cleo.o.callaghan.yeoman@stir.ac.uk
Yu-Hung Tien (current Postgraduate Representative) yuhung.tien@ed.ac.uk
Andrew McInnes (BARS Secretary) bars.secretary@gmail.com
Anthony Mandal (BARS President) – mandal@cardiff.ac.uk
BARS ECR Representative
Alongside the BARS Postgraduate Representative, we are also looking to appoint an Early Career Researcher willing to join the Executive in order to represent our early career members and early career researchers in the field more generally.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Role:
During their term, the Early Career Representative will attend approximately four Executive meetings and have the opportunity to co-organise events that benefit the postgraduate and early career community. They will also work with the Postgraduate Representative(s) to organise the next biennial Early Career and Postgraduate Conference, due to be held in 2025 and announced later this year.
The position offers valuable experience in peer mentoring, conference organisation, logistics and communications, and offers excellent networking opportunities. Importantly, it provides the chance to help shape the Romantic Studies Early Career and Postgraduate community by feeding into the Executive’s discussions and launching new initiatives to support early career researchers in the field. Past Early Career Representatives have been instrumental in the launch of the BARS Digital Events series and co-editing special journal issues arising from the PGR/ECR conferences.
The Early Career Representative is also responsible for facilitating the Nineteenth-Century Matters Fellowship together with the British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) Postdoctoral Representative. The Nineteenth-Century Matters Fellowship is an annual initiative jointly run by BARS and BAVS to offer unaffiliated early career researchers a platform from which to organise professionalization workshops and research seminars on a theme related to nineteenth-century studies, relevant to the agreed host institution’s specialisms.
The Early Career Representative will serve for a term of two years. After this, there is the opportunity to apply to renew their position according to their eligibility. Please note that BARS is offering a stipend of £750 per annum for this role; also, any travel expenses incurred for attending BARS Executive business onsite will be met by the Association.
Eligibility:
The Early Career Representative must be an early career researcher based in the UK. The Early Career Representative will mentor the Postgraduate Representative and together they will organise the BARS PGR/ECR Conference to be held in 2025, and the Early Career Representative will work with the BAVS Postdoctoral Representative to run the Nineteenth-Century Matters Fellowship on an annual basis. Therefore, demonstrable in-person conference organisation experience is essential. Excellent team working skills and communication skills must be evidenced. Prior mentoring experience is desirable.
How to Apply:
Please send expressions of interest, together with a two-page CV including a brief description of your research, to the Secretary of the Association, Andrew McInnes, copying in the President, Anthony Mandal. The deadline for expressions of interest is midnight, 3 June 2024.
Expressions of interest should be up to 500 words in length, and should be accompanied by an up-to-date CV (of no more than two pages). We encourage applicants to discuss their experience, skills, and passion for the role in their expression of interest, and we would very much like to read of proposals applicants have for the location, topic and logistics of the next BARS PGR/ECR conference in 2025.
If you would like to discuss the position further, please feel free to get in touch with:
Amanda Blake Davis (current Early Career Representative) a.davis2@derby.ac.uk
Andrew McInnes (BARS Secretary) bars.secretary@gmail.com
Anthony Mandal (BARS President) – mandal@cardiff.ac.uk