HRC Doctoral Fellowship Competition 2018

Meghan Dennis from the Department of Archaeology at York, has been appointed one of nine HRC (Humanities Research Centre) Doctoral Fellows this year, reflecting an outstanding series of applications and presentations. This year, the nominated candidates came from all eight arts and humanities departments and the Centre for Medieval Studies.

Finalists were asked to give a prepared 10-minute presentation to demonstrate both the quality of their research and, specifically, their clarity in communicating their subject to a non-specialist audience. On the day we were treated to a series of fascinating insights into a diverse range of research being conducted across the Arts and Humanities. The panel and audience also had the opportunity to ask questions of each speaker.

‎‎‎The HRC Doctoral Fellowships panel of judges was chaired by Dr Kate Giles, HRC Acting Director and Associate Dean for Research, and comprised of; Professor Sir Ron Cooke, former Vice Chancellor of the University of York and Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund's Yorkshire and Humber Committee; Mary Haworth, Director of Philanthropic Partnerships and Alumni and Dr Keith Allen, HRC Deputy Director. They faced, as in previous years, a difficult task, however they decided unanimously to award the title of Humanities Research Centre Doctoral Fellow to all nine excellent finalists.

The three top prizes were then presented to Madeline Boden of the Department of History of Art (first place), Jamie Cawthra from the Department of Philosophy (second place) and Meghan Dennis from the Department of Archaeology (third place).

The HRC 2018 Doctoral Fellows and their presentation titles are:

• Madeline Boden (History of Art (old)) A Relief from Classicism: Frederic Leighton in the Middle East, c.1858-1895
• Jamie Cawthra (Philosophy (old)) Impossible Fiction
• Meghan Dennis (Archaeology) Ethics, Digital Archaeology, and Archaeogaming: Examining Representations of Archaeology, Archaeologists, and Archaeological Ethics in Video-Games
• Antony Pak-Hang Huen (English and Related Literature (old)) Contemporary Poets, the Visual Arts, and Ekphrasis
• Hannah Jeans (History) Women’s Reading Habits and Gendered Genres, c.1600 – c.1700
• Richard Kearns (Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media) Soundweb & Interplay: Context, Meaning and Play in Interactive Artworks
• Liam Maloney (Music) The Functions of Music: Conceptualising Listening from a Utilitarian Perspective
• Rebecca Searby (Centre for Medieval Studies) England’s Jewish Community in the Royal Courts, 1216-1235
• James Tompkinson (Language and Linguistic Science) Investigating listeners’ perceptions of spoken threat utterances