{"id":995,"date":"2022-04-21T13:33:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/memsnews\/?p=995"},"modified":"2023-11-02T14:17:33","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:17:33","slug":"exciting-new-doctoral-funding-available-western-medieval-manuscript-fragments-in-the-bodleian-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/memsnews\/2022\/04\/21\/exciting-new-doctoral-funding-available-western-medieval-manuscript-fragments-in-the-bodleian-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Exciting new doctoral funding available: Western Medieval manuscript fragments in the Bodleian Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies is delighted to share the following details of this exciting AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership training grant for a collaborative project between the University of Kent and the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford. The grant covers four years of funding for home fees and stipend. For full project, scholarship and funding details, please see below.
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We particularly welcome the applications of those from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds, and we will guarantee interviews for applicants from UK-resident Black, African, Caribbean or Black British, Asian and Asian British, mixed or multiple and other non-White ethnic groups who meet the minimum essential criteria in this subject area.
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AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership training grant: <\/span><\/b>Centring the marginal: Western Medieval manuscript fragments in the Bodleian Library<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Start date<\/span><\/b>: 1 October 2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Application Deadline:<\/span><\/b> 26 May 2022, 5pm BST<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is anticipated that Interviews will take place online on 13 June 2022<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Applications are invited for a fully-funded four-year (full-time) \/ up to eight years (part-time) doctoral grant under the AHRC\u2019s <\/span>Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The project is a collaboration between the University of Kent and the Bodleian Libraries and will enable a student to champion the broadening of Western manuscript studies through research on overlooked fragments. The successful applicant will have autonomy to shape the project based on their interests and will divide their time between the two institutions, receiving advanced research training and benefiting from experience in a special collections library. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The University of Kent and its Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies<\/a> are committed to fostering a welcoming climate for as diverse a community of scholars as possible. In particular, we are very aware of the need to improve the representation, progression and success of students whose ethnic backgrounds have traditionally been under-represented in higher education. We are also aware that the issue becomes more acute at graduate level where, in the words of a recent report, the funding process acts as a \u2018broken pipeline\u2019, creating barriers to access. This has wider effects: recent research by AHRC has shown that fewer than 5% of the UK\u2019s museum and heritage curators are of Black, Asian or minority ethnicity (\u2018BAME\u2019 \u2013 a widely-used umbrella term but one which has multiple inherent problems and is under review). Therefore, we would especially encourage UK-resident applicants from under-represented backgrounds to apply for this studentship. In addition, we will guarantee an interview to all applicants from UK-resident \u2018BAME\u2019 communities who meet the essential eligibility criteria.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>AHRC report: <\/span>ahrc.ukri.org\/documents\/project-reports-and-reviews\/ahrc-funded-collaborative-studentships-report<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading Routes \u2018Broken Pipeline\u2019 Report: <\/span>https:\/\/leadingroutes.org\/mdocs-posts\/the-broken-pipeline-barriers-to-black-students-accessing-research-council-funding<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

University of Kent: https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/equality-diversity-inclusivity<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For informal enquiries about the studentship, please get in touch with the supervisor at Kent of this studentship, Dr David Rundle (<\/span>D.G.Rundle@kent.ac.uk<\/span><\/a>). David is very willing to communicate with prospective applicants by email, telephone, or Skype\/Zoom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The studentship<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Project details and aims<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally, manuscript studies have concentrated on complete codices, but these constitute a small proportion of what once existed. Most medieval manuscripts no longer exist, but we can sense something of what we have lost by looking at partial survivals, mostly fragments in later bindings. Each surviving fragment is a precious witness of medieval manuscript culture, and the number of manuscripts they represent probably exceeds the number of surviving codices. The surviving intact codices are a partial selection of medieval textual culture reflecting the interests and prejudices of successive librarians, booksellers, scholars and collectors. Full attention to the fragments discarded by these groups can create a more diverse history, one which challenges established canons and assumptions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can the evidence of this large body of fragments transform our understanding of medieval manuscript culture? Despite important advances that question remains to be answered in detail. For a long time fragments were largely ignored, studied only if they were vernacular or of very early date. Important advances were made by Neil Ker in the mid-20th century but it is only recently that the full potential of fragments has been understood and the emerging discipline of \u2018fragmentology\u2019 begun to develop. Technological advances have made it easier to describe fragments accurately (especially in identifying texts) and platforms have begun to allow the evidence of fragments to be explored at scale, and to enable the digital unification of related fragments. Methodological advances have been made by a number of individual case-studies, and by important work in parallel manuscript traditions, notably on Hebrew fragments (exemplified by the <\/span>Books within Books<\/span><\/i> project). The time is ripe for research that will build on the growing body of scholarship and comparative material to go beyond isolated case studies and address broader research questions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bodleian Libraries are an obvious place for this research to take place. The extent and range of its medieval collections, the second largest in the UK, are exceptional. Moreover, in a foundational work of 1954 Neil Ker provided short descriptions of several thousand fragments in 16th-century bindings mostly in Oxford libraries. Ker’s work, together with descriptions in the Bodleian\u2019s catalogues, is only a starting point, but the resources for exploring fragments at the Bodleian, and at the Oxford colleges, provide a very solid foundation on which to build. The combination of Oxford\u2019s resources and the expertise of Dr David Rundle at the University of Kent provides an exceptional opportunity for a student to develop their advanced skills as a manuscript scholar in this developing field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Research questions which might be explored include:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n