NEW PHD STUDENTSHIPS ADVERTISED REINFORCES OUR SCHOOL’S ONGOING RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
06 January 2009
Please note: deadline for applications is 12 January 2009.
Titles:
- The changing face of political journalism (Ref.PHDMLM001) Director of Studies: John W. Roberston
- The rise and rise of international development journalism (Ref. PHDMLM002) Director of Studies: John W. Roberston
- Blogging the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (Ref.PHDMLM003) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah
- Prospects of immortality: public engagement with Biogerontology and life/health span expansion (Ref.PHDMLM004) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah External Adviser: Dr Aubrey de Grey
- The ethics of human enhancement in film (Ref.PHDMLM005) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah
- De-territorialisation of the nation in new media artwords (Ref. PHDMLM006) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
- Media arts and the creative use of technology (Ref. PHDMLM007) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
- Interarts and synaethesia (Ref. PHDMLM008) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
- The cultural, commercial and industrial impact of film festivals (Ref.PHDMLM009)
- Documenting Peripherality in Scotland: Engaging the Cultural Resource (REF.PHDMLM010)
The changing face of political journalism (Ref.PHDMLM001) Director of Studies: John W. Roberston
‘Obama isn’t like a new media company, he is one’ (Keen, 2008)
The decimation of mainstream political journalism in the US, the rise of ‘citizen journalists’ or ‘bloggers’ and the potential for politicians to avoid media scrutiny by becoming media themselves, seems to signal the beginning of a radical transformation of political journalism in the US and beyond. Research studentships in this field will enable early tracking and evaluation of trends in this very important, broad and very fast-moving context. Individual doctoral researchers will tackle one or more key questions including:
* How and to what extent are UK politicians adopting the use of blogs and vlogs to communicate directly with electorates?
* How are mainstream media outlets adapting to this changing scenario?
* How are journalists changing to survive in this uncertain environment?
* Who are the new citizen journalists and what is their impact on voters and/or on politicians?
* What are the emerging consequences of ePolitics for the public sphere in UK and/or other countries?
The rise and rise of international development journalism (Ref. PHDMLM002) Director of Studies: John W. Roberston
‘In every society of the bottom billion there are people working for change, but usually they are defeated by powerful internal forces stacked against them. We should be helping the heroes. We had better do something about it. The question is what.’ (Collier, 2008)
The emergence of International Development Journalism is, in some ways, a unique experiment between governments, NGO’s and progressive journalists throughout the world.
The new thinking is that all three can work in a critically constructive environment where the delineations between PR, political spin, and the best traditions of objective journalism remain separate yet also work in harmony. Research studentships in this field will analyse the progress of this new global partnership. Individual doctoral researchers will tackle one or more key questions including:
1. How and to what extent is the UK government engaging in this project?
2. How is the media in the UK responding?
3. How does this new form of journalism differ from traditional foreign reporting?
4. Who are the main international media players in this?
5. What are the emerging consequences for other countries?
Blogging the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (Ref.PHDMLM003) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah
Research into the new media dimensions of an Olympic Games has become a focal point for researchers in recent years. Sports governing bodies have also responded to the rise of new media, as a distinct reporting form within the organizational framework of a mega-event. For instance, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the television rights contracts were separated from internet broadcast rights for the first time in history. Also, in February 2008, the International Olympic Committee provided extensive blogging guidelines for the first time, which affect all accredited persons at the Games, including athletes. Additionally, a remarkable number of citizen journalists is visible at recent Games and their capacity and entitlement to report on the proceedings is a much more contested set of circumstances. As traditional media outlets rush to converge and consolidate their online presence, questions arise as to the contribution of dominant social networking platforms to the construction of the Games-time narrative. Evidence suggests that organizations are making strategic decisions to affect these conditions. For instance, in March 2007, the BBC purchased a You Tube Channel. Alternatively, in August 2008, the IOC signed agreements to broadcast parts of the Olympic Games on You Tube to countries where no television broadcast license was in place. This PhD studentship will focus on the Olympic Winter Games of Vancouver 2010 to study how a range of new media is infiltrating the Olympic infrastructure. It will seek to contextualize the new media culture of Vancouver 2010 within a series of cultural and political issues that have surrounded the lead-up to its Winter Olympics.
Candidates should have a higher degree and particular expertise in qualitative research methods and social media.
Prospects of immortality: public engagement with Biogerontology and life/health span expansion (Ref.PHDMLM004) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah
Due to its broad application to a number of other sciences, biogerontology is one of the most relevant fields of inquiry today. It speaks to the convergence of the NBIC sciences and to the redefinition of health care that arises by describing ageing as a disease to be cured, rather than a natural process to accept. Biogerontology engages us with the prospect of extending health or life span to an unknown degree and, as such, it is a controversial discipline. Over the last ten years, work in this area has shifted from scientific impossibility to becoming a core part of scientific endeavour. A range of media coverage, from aspersion to fascination, has accompanied this shift. In the literature on public understanding of science, there is no research yet attending to this distinct, but profound area of scientific inquiry. As such, this PhD studentship aims to explore the following questions:
* How has biogerontology been articulated though the media?
* What issues surround the political economy of research into life-extension?
* How do different research communities orientate themselves around the various media narratives on life-extension?
* How do journalists report research on biogerontology?
* What can be learned from this subject area to broadly inform work into science communication?
Candidates should have a higher degree in science communication and qualitative research methods in media sociology.
The ethics of human enhancement in film (Ref.PHDMLM005) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah
Studies in the ethics of human enhancement have advanced considerably in the last five years through the emergence of new communities of scholarly inquiry. A number of scientific disciplines have been brought under the spotlight due to their likely use for lifestyle, non-therapeutic purposes. The connections between filmic narratives and bioethics are made manifest in recent cultural studies and can be linked to broader, literary origins. Yet, there is very little research that investigates the range of narratives that emerge on the ethics of human enhancement within film. This absence affects the degree of complexity that is brought to how such debates are played out in the media and in policy. This PhD explores the contribution of film to such imaginations and aims to add complexity to our understanding of how film conveys such alterations. It should also help us understand how film functions as a posthuman device of expressing humanly experiences, such as process of remembering, perceiving and the possible disruption of sensory encounters. It also aims to explore the limitations of cultural reference points within scientific policy making on the ethics of human enhancements, exploring the range of metaphors, analogies and stories that contribute to shaping the public understanding of science.
Candidates should have a higher degree and particular expertise in film theory and technological fiction.
De-territorialisation of the nation in new media artwords (Ref. PHDMLM006) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
Contemporary discussions of globalisation suggest that nation-states are being undermined from above by transnational processes and from below by processes of regionalisation and localisation. New information and communication technologies (ICTs), the Internet in particular, are usually highlighted as technological developments which are helping to facilitate the undermining of the nation-state. International migrants, through the transnational social networks which they create, are often highlighted as key agents in the transcending of the boundaries of the nation-state. Given these premises we would expect that the theme of de-territorialisation would feature prominently in the work of artist who are working in new digital media, and particularly in the work of artists who have relocated from one country to another. This research project aims to explore the ways in which the nation is being de-territorialised in new media artworks. The project will compare the work of Scottish-born, Scottish resident artists, with the work of foreign-born, Scottish resident artists to explore the similarities and differences between the ways in which the nation is imagined in new media artworks.
Media arts and the creative use of technology (Ref. PHDMLM007) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
We are seeking a PhD student to research the interrelationships between media arts and technology on the basis of artists using, adapting and developing and modifying novel technologies for their aesthetic and creative needs. The project would explore the intersection between aesthetic practices and technological environments, examining specific science and technology developments in relation to the notion of creativity. In what new ways have artists made use of technologies in the late 20th and 21st century? Are there interesting examples of collaboration between arts and industries, developers, programmers, scientists that have effects on both sides? How is our understanding of creativity changing in the light of the increased use of machines for aesthetic purposes? To what extent might there be a co-creativity with the machine? Maybe there are also some interesting historical milestones of relevance to understand today’s technological drive? We welcome applications that focus on practice-based research and/or which are rooted in cultural or aesthetic theory.
Interarts and synaethesia (Ref. PHDMLM008) Director of Studies: Professor Yvonne Spielmann
We are seeking a PhD student who wishes to engage with a diversity of media arts practices and is interested to explore how different artistic and aesthetic concepts have promoted synaesthetic ideas and multisensory perception. One focus may be on the question of fusion in the development of cross-artform or combined arts (‘interarts’) practices and synaesthesia in the history of media arts development, and how such convergences are analysed in the theoretical debates. Another possible strand of research may refer to newer media and discuss how modes of seeing, hearing, touching and so forth are subject to interactive arts and perceptual environments. It is also possible (but not a requirement) to view the peculiarities of interrelationships between artforms as embedded into the larger picture of internationalization and globalisation, and examine the intercultural and social aspects of synaesthesia and interarts practices. We welcome applications that are rooted in media arts, for example visual or audio art or performance, which relate to theory and practice, or which explore particular artistic practices in a contemporary or historical context.
The cultural, commercial and industrial impact of film festivals (Ref.PHDMLM009)
In 2009 Edinburgh will host no fewer than six film festivals, including the longest running film festival in the world, The Edinburgh International Film Festival. Glasgow runs two distinctive film festivals (Glasgow Film Festival in February and Document International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in October). The unprecedented response to the launch of the ‘quirky’ and ‘whimsical’ Ballerina Ballroom of Dreams Film Festival in Nairn by the actress Tilda Swinton and director Mark Cousins represents further evidence of the immense impact even a small-scale event can have both domestically and internationally. This level of activity in Scotland alone indicates the increasing importance of the ‘festival circuit’ and the growing awareness of the social, cultural and industrial impact such events can bring. Meanwhile the top tier of international film festivals – Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and Sundance – continue to attract publicity and set cultural agendas. Despite this, there has been a significant lack of research into the range of activities covered by the‘film festival’. This research project will address this gap in knowledge and draw on the School’s existing links with the Small Islands Film Festival.
Suggested research questions include:
1. What cultural impact do film festivals have on local and global audiences?
2. What are the implications of the various ‘festival circuits’ for the industry and to what extent do these events present opportunities to ‘do business’?
3. How are these events designed and conceptualised? How are films shortlisted and judged?
4. How are these events funded and how do they operate to promote a specific place?
5. What level of competition exists between the top festivals and to what extent is the ‘second tier’ festival fighting for survival?
Documenting Peripherality in Scotland: Engaging the Cultural Resource (REF.PHDMLM010)
The legacy of documentary film in Scotland invites continued analysis and development. There is a timely opportunity in Scotland to re-assess the relationship between filmmakers and their subject, not least in the documentary field. This doctoral research project invites applications from suitably qualified individuals with a strong interest in visual culture, including documentary theory and practice. An awareness of current and historical developments in Scottish film making and broadcasting would be an advantage, as would an interest in critical accounts of the representation and discourse of peripheral communities.
Suggested research questions include the following:
1. How might film be employed to interrogate the ‘performativity’ or ‘poetics’ of remote and rural space?
2. What is the current role of the filmmaker in terms of the relationship to the representation of place?
3. What place does the concept of peripherality occupy in current documentary practice?
4. What can we learn from the historical interaction between filmmakers and broadcasters with ethnographers and historians engaged with rural and remote Scotland?
5. What role can convergent media play in the representation of Scotland’s peripheral communities?
This project should interest applicants from the arts, humanities and social sciences. Applicants should hold a first-class or upper-second class Honours degree. A relevant Masters degree either held or in progress would be an advantage, as would experience of documentary practice.
