University of Lincoln Graduate Teaching Fellowship - Literature and Environmental Crisis

Background

Building upon our recent success in the national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), the School of Humanities and Heritage at the University of Lincoln is offering a fully-funded Graduate Teaching Fellow position in English Literature and the Environment (comprising a PhD fee waiver, plus the equivalent of a UKRI stipend, for four years full-time). We invite talented individuals to submit applications for this fellowship, which combines PhD study with limited teaching duties at the University of Lincoln. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary doctoral projects that link to our overarching theme of ‘Literature and Environmental Crisis’ and which draw upon our staff expertise in ecocriticism.

English is an area of research excellence in the University, with staff undertaking a diverse range of research projects spanning the medieval to the contemporary, with particular strengths in nineteenth century studies, twenty-first century literature, Gothic literature and American literature. The successful applicant will be supervised in undertaking their doctoral research, and will simultaneously be provided with a graduated introduction to teaching, involving mentorship, training, and support for attaining HEA Associate Fellow status. Teaching contact hours will build gradually up to a maximum of no more than 8 hours per week during term time over the course of the Graduate Teaching Fellowship.

Aims

The climate emergency cannot be addressed purely through scientific, technological or economic solutions; fundamentally, any meaningful response to environmental crisis demands imaginative transformation, an understanding of how we lived in the past, and new stories about how we might live in the future. To change how people behave, we need to change how people think about our relationship to non-human nature. Whether depicting non-human nature as a source of both terror and wonder, or projecting a future shaped by climate catastrophe, literature can deconstruct anthropocentric modes of thought and re-evaluate our connection to the non-human, and how we use and value resources and landscapes. This Graduate Teaching Fellowship will address these urgent cultural, political and philosophical questions by exploring the intersection of literature and environmentalism after 1800. Applications should be for a doctoral project that aligns with one of the following themes:

(1) flooding and coastal erosion;

(2) landscape and place-making;

(3) globalization and the environment.

Research Environment

The successful applicant will join the vibrant research culture in English, centred around the Nineteenth-Century and 21st Century Research Groups, and become part of an active community of research students in the School. The environment is a major strategic focus of English research, and current activity in this field includes projects on Gothic, walking and environmental awareness (Dr Scott Brewster), historical flood narratives (Dr Laura Gill) and contemporary fiction and the petrochemical industry (Dr Ruth Hawthorn).

Funding

A Graduate Teaching Fellow position is a four-year full-time role which combines PhD study with teaching duties. Applicants with relevant personal circumstances may be enrolled for six years on a part-time basis, but only where this is justified. All Graduate Teaching Fellows will have their PhD fees waived, whether they incur home or international fees. They will also receive the equivalent of the standard UKRI stipend (£17668 p.a. in 2022-2023), partly as salary and partly as a stipend. Graduate Teaching Fellows will be provided with appropriate training and support to undertake their teaching role. It is envisaged that their teaching duties, including associated administrative support and training, will not exceed 468 hours (0.3 FTE) per year and in no case will exceed 20 hours of duties per week.

Requirements/Eligibility

This is a developmental role for those aspiring to an academic post in the future. You will be given the opportunity to work across disciplines within and beyond the School of Humanities and Heritage. You should possess a good undergraduate Honours degree (2:1 or higher) and Master’s degree in English.

Interested applicants are encouraged to demonstrate skills, experience, and/or potential relevant to a future career in teaching and researching aspects of literature in relation to the environment. Evidence of the ability to engage in postgraduate research and to work collaboratively as part of a teaching team, including excellent communication skills in both written and spoken English, are required. Successful applicants will enrol on an appropriate PhD programme at the University of Lincoln.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please send your CV, cover letter, personal statement, and EDI monitoring form to Dr Scott Brewster (sbrewster@lincoln.ac.uk) with the subject heading “Literature and Environmental Crisis Graduate Teaching Fellow Application”.

Your personal statement should provide: (1) information on how your qualifications and experience meet the requirements of the Graduate Teaching Fellowship Programme (500 words); (2) an outline of your proposed doctoral project, noting which theme it aligns with and your preferred supervisors (1000 words excluding bibliography); (3) a statement outlining how you would approach teaching post-1800 English literature to undergraduates, including any relevant experience if applicable (500 words); and (4) the contact details for two academic references.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact their preferred supervisors (see Research Environment section) for informal advice about developing their doctoral project in advance of submitting their applications.

Application Deadline: 17 April 2023.

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