The Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol is seeking to award a fully-funded PhD studentship from January 2015. The studentship is funded by the Wellcome Trust (WT). The studentship provides full tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of £64,759 over 3 years (£21,586 per annum), as well as £11,700 studentship fees and £1,500 for travel and conference attendance.
The studentship is for a doctoral project on a topic related to the WT Senior Investigator Award Life of Breath, led by Prof Havi Carel and Prof Jane Macnaughton. An overview of the project can be found below.
Applicants should have a very strong undergraduate degree in philosophy or medical humanities and should ideally have or be undertaking a Masters degree in a relevant discipline or have relevant research experience in a related field. The successful candidate will work within the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol.
To apply, use the online form, specifying that you wish to be considered for the studentship. Please supply:
- An up to date academic CV
- A writing sample of up to 5,000 words
- The names of two referees
- A 2,000-3,000 word research proposal
In your research proposal, explain how your proposed research would make a valuable contribution to the Life of Breath project. This contribution is currently envisaged as a PhD project that would shed light on the experience of breathing and of breathlessness, a phenomenology of health and illness, or another project within the philosophy of medicine. The closing date for receipt of applications is 20 October 2013. Interviews will be held in mid-November.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof Havi Carel in the Department of Philosophy by telephone at +44 (0)117 954 6690 or by email.
About the project
The Life of Breath Senior Investigator Award is a 5-year research project exploring the cultural, philosophcal, historical, and anthropological foundations of breathing and its pathological counterpart, breathlessness. The project is motivated by the view that breathing and breathlessness can only be understood fully by drawing on both biomedical information and on cultural, literary, historical and phenomenological research. In the project we will study breathing and breathlessness through a range of humanities disciplines, and use the outcomes to inform medical practice. This innovative humanities perspective, alongside empirical research, will enhance the medical understanding of breathlessness. The project will contribute to our knowledge of this common symptom and will inform medical approaches to preventing and treating diseases for which breathlessness is the primary symptom. The goal of the project is to use medical humanities research outcomes to inform medical interventions in diseases in which breathlessness is a key symptom.