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Leverhulme Trust PhD

'Planning, rebranding and identity and contestation in a city of culture'

Project start date: 1st September 2013

Closing date for applications: 3rd May 2013

Interviews: interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 13th May 2013

Project information:

A PhD scholarship is available to undertake full-time research within the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. The position is for three years and is tenable from 1st September 2013. The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Philip Boland and Dr Brendan Murtagh (School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering), and will undertake a programme of research as specified under Leverhulme Research Grant Reference Number RPG-2103-091: “From plantation to peace: Derry/Londonderry, UK city of culture 2013”, awarded to Dr Philip Boland.

The proposed PhD project will explore the relationship between ‘Planning, rebranding and identity contestation in a city of culture’. The bid documentation emphasises that the award of UK City of Culture to Derry/Londonderry in 2013 will become a transformative vehicle for peace-making and conflict resolution in a divided city. A key objective, amongst others, is to create more shared, inclusive and neutral spaces especially in the city centre and, more generally, improving the image of the city through place branding to attract investment and tourism. In this context, culture is no longer viewed as a cause of division, rather it is now perceived to offer important opportunities to cure conflict. Given this, the PhD will focus specifically on the extent to which City of Culture, associated planning interventions and rebranding policies are creating more inclusive, shared and neutral cityspaces. A key element of the research is to unpack and analyse the mechanisms, processes and spaces through which the Protestant and Catholic communities are engaging, or not, with each other. In essence, the PhD will examine the extent to which there is genuine social inclusion and community engagement during and beyond 2013 and, developing this further, investigate the tension between the official rebranding of a cultural and inclusive city and the reality of identity contestation and spatial segregation.

 

Qualifications:

Applicants must have a minimum 2:1 degree classification in planning, geography or related social science discipline.

 

Eligibility: UK/EU candidates

 

Scholarship value: £13,726 stipend per annum plus full-time home/EU PhD fees for three years.

 

To Apply:

Applications should be made online - click here to apply. A covering letter and CV should be uploaded as part of the application. Informal enquiries about the project may be made to Dr. Philip Boland at p.boland@qub.ac.uk/02890 976564