Funded PhD available (UK): user participation in archive description

We think, not I think' Harnessing collaborative creativity to archival
practice; implications of user participation for archival theory and
practice.

Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD studentship

Collaborative Doctoral Award to be held jointly by UCL and The National
Archives (TNA), 2009-2012

Dear all,

Apologies for any cross-postings

UCL: Department of Information Studies and The National Archives
have recently been successful in getting an Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC) Collaborative Doctoral Award (see below for
details) to study the impact of user-generated content and
collaborative technologies might have on archival theory and practice.

If anyone is
interested please get in touch for further details. In order to be
eligible, applicants have to be from the UK or EU. The closing date for
applications is 15 June.

Best wishes,

Andrew
Flinn, Department of Information Studies (formerly School of Library, Archive
and Information Studies),
University College London

'We think, not I think' Harnessing collaborative creativity to archival
practice; implications of user participation for archival theory and
practice.

Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD studentship

Collaborative Doctoral Award to be held jointly by UCL and The National
Archives (TNA), 2009-2012

A three year full-time collaborative doctoral award has been awarded by
the AHRC to UCL and TNA for a research student to explore the impact on
archival theory and practice of embracing greater user participation in
professional practice. The research will be jointly supervised by Drs
Andrew Flinn and Elizabeth Shepherd, at the Department of Information
Studies (DIS), UCL, and Dr Louise Craven at TNA.

This is a unique opportunity for a graduate (1st or good 2.1) in any
discipline, with an MA and/or relevant work experience in archives and
records management. The student will benefit from exposure to current
archives and records practice and evolving trends and challenges. They
will develop working relationships within TNA (the largest employer of
archivists in the UK, which has a broad range of expertise relevant to
this project) and undertake doctoral research in a key academic and
professional topic at a top UK research university. The successful
applicant will be positioned for a fast track professional career or an
academic career in an emerging international discipline.

The aim of this collaborative project is to investigate the potential
and limits of collaborative creativity and user participation in the
archive sector and beyond, explore the reality behind claims made
regarding experts and crowds, and suggest what might be the impacts of
such developments on professional thinking, training, and practice in
the 21st century. The project will explore these issues in a UK context
but it will also give priority to examining developments elsewhere, and
consequently have a relevance and applicability worldwide. The
collaboration with the TNA will allow the doctorate student to observe
these developments at first hand, at an institution which is a
world-leader in trialling these approaches. The research is intended to
inform professional debate and influence changes to archival practice in
the UK and more widely.

The award covers standard tuition fees and a maintenance grant of around
£16,500 pa, including contributions from TNA, and is available for three
years from October 2009. Applicants must be UK or EU nationals.
Applicants must apply directly to UCL (
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/) but for
further details on the AHRC’s collaborative doctoral award scheme,
including eligibility requirements please consult
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/CollaborativeDoctoralAwards.aspx

If you are interested in applying, please submit your doctoral
application (in hard copy, not online) to UCL Registry, with a copy to
Dr Flinn at DIS, before the closing date of 15 June 2009, making clear
that you are applying for the Collaborative Doctoral Award. Applications
received after this date will not be considered. Your application should
explain why you are interested in and qualified to research in this
subject, what benefits you see in the collaborative nature of the award,
and how you would plan the research methodology. Interviews will be held
at UCL in the week beginning 29 June 2009. The application form and
other information are available from the UCL website at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/research-students/.

For further information and more details about the proposed research
please contact Dr Andrew Flinn, lecturer in archives and records
management, a.flinn@ucl.ac.uk, Department of Information Studies,
University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

--
Dr Andrew Flinn,

Lead researcher, AHRC 'Community Archives and Identities: documenting
and sustaining community heritage' project

Lecturer & programme director, MA in Archives and Records Management (ARM)

and MA in Records and Archives Management International (RAMI)

Department of Information Studies (formerly School of Library, Archive
and Information Studies)

University College London

Gower Street

London WC1E 6BT

direct tel: 020 7679 2479 (non-UK: +44 20 7679 2479)

Extension (internal UCL only): 32479

fax: +020 7383 0557

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/andrew-flinn/

Project website:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/icarus/community-archives/

Project blog: http://archivesandidentities.com/