AHRC-funded Collaborative PhD Studentship with the University of Exeter and BT Archives: The Cultures of Radio Research in India, circa. 1890-1947 (Ref: 2152)
About the award:
Applications are invited for an AHRC-funded Collaborative PhD Studentship with the University of Exeter and BT Archives to research and study the history of wireless and radio research in India from the late nineteenth century to independence.
The project seeks to challenge assumptions that the development of radio science and technology in India during this period was lacklustre. A common claim is that systematic radio science did not really start until the foundation of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India's Radio Research Board in 1942. However, recent studies have suggested that a culture of overland and undersea cable research was established in India by 1900 and that radio research flourished in Britain and its dominions of Canada, New Zealand and Australia. While the existence of radio research in India before 1947 has been acknowledged in the historiography, it has never been the subject of systematic historical analysis.
This project aims to plug this significant gap in the literature and advance current understanding of the larger questions of research and development in the British empire before the Second World War, and the relationships between imperialism and telecommunications. It focuses on the following questions:
1. Where and how was radio research and development (R&D) pursued in India? Was it confined to academic, commercial, government and military organisations, or were there less formal research cultures elsewhere such as in amateur radio clubs?
2. What did radio R&D in India achieve? How did it improve communication technologies and transform understanding of the ionosphere? Why did some projects succeed and others fail?
3. Why was radio R&D in India pursued and how did particular centres develop? To what extent did such centres depend on international movements - e.g. of Indian-born scientists and engineers training overseas and British-born scientific practitioners hired to work in India?
4. To what extent was radio R&D in India shaped by issues relating to culture, society and politics at local and national levels?
5. How far was radio R&D in India hampered by financial, ideological and other 'non-technical' constraints that we know seriously affected the Government of India, Marconi Wireless, Cable and Wireless and other relevant organisations?
6. To what extent did radio R&D in India follow the models developed in Britain and colonies such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand? Were there complex and often difficult relationships between the academic, government and commercial sponsors of this kind of R&D?
The project will involve the close and systematic analysis of a wealth of under-researched primary source materials, and a critical study of the extensive secondary literature in the fields of the history of science and technology, the history of India, and global and imperial history. By far the largest amount of primary research material for this project is located in Britain and was primarily written and/or published in English. However, it is anticipated that the successful applicant may need to make at least one trip to India to study material in repositories there. The principal research collections are in the British Library, BT Archives, University of Exeter, Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (Cornwall), Bodleian Library (Oxford), Calcutta University Library, Indian Institute of the Sciences (Bangalore) and All India Radio Archives (Mumbai).
The successful applicant will be spending a considerable amount of time in BT Archives where they will be studying some of the collection’s underexplored and uncatalogued materials and gaining experience of professional archive management and public engagement activities associated with BT Archives and the Science Museum. They will also be expected to present aspects of their research in workshops, seminars and conferences organised by the University of Exeter and by BT Archives.
The project supervisors are Dr Richard Noakes (University of Exeter), Dr Gajendra Singh (University of Exeter) and Mr. David Hay (BT Archives, London). The successful applicant will also receive support from Dr. Alison Hess (Science Museum, London).
Summary:
Application deadline: 29th April 2016
Number of awards: 1
Value: £14,057 plus UK/EU tuition fees for eligible students
Duration of award: per year
Contact: Dr Matt Barber, Graduate School Administrator at humanities-pgadmissions@exeter.ac.uk
HOW TO APPLY
Entry criteria:
We invite applications from candidates with a strong academic background in modern history, preferably the history of modern science and/or technology. Successful applicants should normally have a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant field of humanities, and have obtained, or are currently working towards a Masters degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in modern history, preferably the history of modern science and/or technology. If English is not your native language, you will also need to satisfy the English language entry requirements of the University of Exeter.
Please note that the award is subject to the AHRC’s terms as laid out in the Training Grant Funding Guide 2015-16, to which applicants should refer before applying. Please also note that International fee paying students are not eligible for AHRC awards and EU students need to assess whether they are eligible for fees and maintenance or fees only by reviewing the eligiblity criteria set out in the Conditions of Research Council Training Grants.
To apply:
You will need to complete an online web form and upload a full CV, a covering letter outlining your academic interests, any prior research experience and your reasons for wishing to undertake this research project, a sample of recent work, details of two referees and, if relevant, proof of English language proficiency, by 29 April 2016.
Please ensure that two referees either email their reference to you for uploading to the system or, if they prefer, directly email their references to the Postgraduate Administrator at humanities-pgadmissions@exeter.ac.uk by 29 April 2016. Please note that we will not be contacting referees to request references, you must arrange for them to be submitted to us by the deadline. The responsibility for ensuring that references are received by the deadline rests with the candidates. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts (references sent from personal/private email accounts will not be accepted unless in the form of a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee).
More information:
If you have any queries or would like to discuss this opportunity before applying, please contact Dr. Richard Noakes at r.j.noakes@exeter.ac.uk.
If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact:
Postgraduate Administrator at: humanities-pgadmissions@exeter.ac.uk
College of Humanities Graduate School, University of Exeter
Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive
Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QH
