The Department of History

The Department of History's research concentrates on early modern and modern history - from 1450 to the recent past - and embraces a wide geographical area. Historians of Britain constitute the largest single group of specialists in the Department. We have developed an impressive international profile in social and cultural history; demographic and census history; and gender history. We have a strong interest in interdisciplinary approaches. One of our additional strengths is public engagement and impact.

The Role and Duties

The post holder will conduct research as part of the Wellcome Trust-funded project 'Body, Self and Family: Women's Psychological, Emotional and Bodily Health in Britain, c. 1960-1990'. This major interdisciplinary project explores women's experiences at different stages of the life cycle, emphasising the interplay of body, mind and emotion, how women negotiated different sources of expertise and authority, and how new reproductive and contraceptive technologies affected experiences of 'embodied time'. The post holder will lead a strand of the project on different modes of public communication about women's health and illness in Britain in the period c.1960-1990. They will consult printed sources, including mass-market magazines for adult women, activist publications, lifestyle magazines and newspaper columns, and will undertake archival research on the papers of female journalists. This major project will transform historical understandings of women's experiences of health, reproduction, and medical technologies, and will generate new approaches to researching female subjectivity and bodily experience.

Qualifications and Skills Required

The successful applicant must have a PhD in History, Sociology, Journalism or a related discipline; a track record of scholarly publications; and experience in researching historical or contemporary experiences of health and illness or gender. Ideally they will also have experience of working as part of a research team; a track record of public engagement activities; and experience of event organisation.

In the research statement to be submitted with the application, applicants should focus on how they will contribute to the project if appointed to the post, including potential sole-authored and/or co-authored publications arising from the project and other plans for dissemination. Please include details of any publications already in progress, but our main interest is in how you perceive your creative input into the wider project. In the plan for generating external funding to support your research, please focus on the three-year period following the end of this post, and how you might use the opportunities afforded by this appointment to generate external funding to support your research in the future. Please contact Dr Tracey Loughran (t.loughran@essex.ac.uk) if you require further information on how to construct these statements.

Please note that the appointment will be made as Research Fellow.

At the University of Essex internationalism is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally-oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries and a university where you can find the world in one place.

Please see the further detail link below for a full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role plus more information relating to the post. We recommend you read this information carefully before making an application.  Applications should be made on-line, but if you would like advice or help in making an application, or need information in a different format, please telephone the Resourcing Team (01206 874693/873521).

*Further detail: Senior Post-Doctoral Research Assistant

*More information: Working at the University