Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Material Culture
Royal College of Music £34,521 - £38,327 per annum (pro-rated 0.44FTE). Normally appointed to 1st point of the grade. Closing date 10 June 2022
Founded in 1882, The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a world leading music conservatoire with a prestigious history and contemporary outlook. Our excellence was recognised by the 2022 QS World University Rankings, in which we were ranked as the global top institution for performing arts by Subject.
The Wolfson Centre in Music and Material Culture at the Royal College of Music has recently won a grant from the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust that focuses on the role of objects to enrich historical narratives. The project will focus on three case studies exploring how surviving musical instruments can expand perspectives in the history of music and in the understanding of the complex processes of manufacture and distribution, which are embedded within and are evidence of the wider socio-economic and geographical history of commodities, materials and production techniques in the period c. 1500–1800.
The Principal Investigator (Professor Gabriele Rossi Rognoni), Curator of the Royal College of Music Museum and Head of the Centre in Music and Material Culture is primarily an organologist; the Co-Investigator (Professor Richard Wistreich) is a musicologist, specialising in the cultural history of early modern performance. We therefore seek to appoint as Research Fellow an early modern historian with complementary expertise to contribute to the project and particularly:
• To undertake preliminary research on the objects identified as case studies and undertake/coordinate further research on their history, construction and component materials.
• To undertake bibliographic research on the material, economic and cultural contexts to which the three objects pertain.
• To work in collaboration with the PI and Co-I in developing a conceptual map of connection between the material make-up of three objects and the technical/economic/cultural histories with which they intersect.
• To support the organisation of two international hybrid workshops bringing together a wide range of early modern specialists to discuss the methodology and the conclusions of the project.
• To support dissemination of the project and its results through digital and social media and the production of research outputs. Depending on the particular interest of the Research Fellow, they will be supported to produce their own single-authored output(s) on topics arising from the project
• To collaborate with the PI and Co-I in the production of research outputs derived from the project.
• To carry out other such duties as the PI might reasonably require, consistent with the grade and scope of the post.
The Research Fellow will have a doctoral degree in a relevant field, namely:
• History of Technology and/or Science
• Economic History (especially trade, commodities and/or manufacturing)
• Material Culture Studies
A full description of the project proposal is available upon request.
The position is offered part-time (the equivalent of just over 2 days per week for five months), but there will be considerable flexibility in how this time is best used.
For full details of this position please read the Applicant Information Pack, available to download from the RCM website.
CVs without an application form will not be accepted. Please ensure that you include the Job Reference Number when submitting your application.
The RCM is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and to promoting a diverse and inclusive environment for all our staff, students and visitors.
The Wolfson Centre in Music and Material Culture at the Royal College of Music has recently won a grant from the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust that focuses on the role of objects to enrich historical narratives. The project will focus on three case studies exploring how surviving musical instruments can expand perspectives in the history of music and in the understanding of the complex processes of manufacture and distribution, which are embedded within and are evidence of the wider socio-economic and geographical history of commodities, materials and production techniques in the period c. 1500–1800.
The Principal Investigator (Professor Gabriele Rossi Rognoni), Curator of the Royal College of Music Museum and Head of the Centre in Music and Material Culture is primarily an organologist; the Co-Investigator (Professor Richard Wistreich) is a musicologist, specialising in the cultural history of early modern performance. We therefore seek to appoint as Research Fellow an early modern historian with complementary expertise to contribute to the project and particularly:
• To undertake preliminary research on the objects identified as case studies and undertake/coordinate further research on their history, construction and component materials.
• To undertake bibliographic research on the material, economic and cultural contexts to which the three objects pertain.
• To work in collaboration with the PI and Co-I in developing a conceptual map of connection between the material make-up of three objects and the technical/economic/cultural histories with which they intersect.
• To support the organisation of two international hybrid workshops bringing together a wide range of early modern specialists to discuss the methodology and the conclusions of the project.
• To support dissemination of the project and its results through digital and social media and the production of research outputs. Depending on the particular interest of the Research Fellow, they will be supported to produce their own single-authored output(s) on topics arising from the project
• To collaborate with the PI and Co-I in the production of research outputs derived from the project.
• To carry out other such duties as the PI might reasonably require, consistent with the grade and scope of the post.
The Research Fellow will have a doctoral degree in a relevant field, namely:
• History of Technology and/or Science
• Economic History (especially trade, commodities and/or manufacturing)
• Material Culture Studies
A full description of the project proposal is available upon request.
The position is offered part-time (the equivalent of just over 2 days per week for five months), but there will be considerable flexibility in how this time is best used.
For full details of this position please read the Applicant Information Pack, available to download from the RCM website.
CVs without an application form will not be accepted. Please ensure that you include the Job Reference Number when submitting your application.
The RCM is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and to promoting a diverse and inclusive environment for all our staff, students and visitors.