Research Fellow – Material Heritage of Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon
University of Birmingham – School of History and Cultures within the College of Arts and Law

Duration of Post: Full time, Fixed term for a period of 24 months
Salary: Starting salary is normally in the range £28,982 to £37,768. With potential progression once in post to £40,082 a year.

This is a full-time research fellowship for a fixed term of two years. The postdoctoral fellow will work with Dr Tara Hamling and colleagues in the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies (CREMS) in the Department of History, University of Birmingham and in collaboration with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon (SBT). The post will serve two associated functions:

1. To support, enhance and extend activities leading to Impact associated with the History Department’s ongoing knowledge exchange partnership with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Collections Department. This role will involve identifying and implementing opportunities for new access and interpretation around the SBT collections (especially in relation to SBT’s on-line presence and materials but also physical displays, educational work and commercial opportunities) informed by recent research in material culture, social and cultural history as applied to the extensive museum and archival collections of the SBT. This work would build on previous and continuing research and interpretation activities around their early modern object collections and will involve a range of activities including public events, use of social media and digital technologies.

2. To contribute knowledge to inform funding bids for large research projects utilising the range of historical materials held by the SBT and their heritage implications, building on previous grants held in partnership with the SBT (AHRC Collaborate Doctorate 2010-13) and scoping exercises (AHRC Digital Transformations Scoping Study: ‘Digital CoPs and Robbers: Communities of Practice and the Transformation of Research’ 2012). The post holder will be expected to craft grant applications in consultation with colleagues in History and at SBT, working closely with the University’s research support team, and may involve developing relationships with other partners in the cultural and creative sectors.

A third subsidiary objective of the fellowship involves maintaining and developing links between CREMS in the School of History and Cultures and The Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon (part of the School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies), such as postgraduate teaching. It is therefore expected that the post holder will be based locally to work between the University’s Edgbaston campus and in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Expected start date of the post is September 2016.

For full details, and to apply, please visit: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANK297/research-fellow-material-heritage-of-shakespeare-and-stratford-upon-avon

Closing Date: 10 May, 2016.