Further Particulars
This document includes information about the role for which you are applying and the
information you will need to provide with the application.
1. Role details
Vacancy reference:
7638
Job title:
Research Assistant (Negotiating Gender in
Renaissance Medicine)
Reports to:
Head of Department via Professor Helen King
Salary:
£24,520 - £29,249 pa pro-rata
Terms and conditions:
Research
Grade:
AC1
Duration of post:
12 or 24 months
Working hours:
37 hours per week for 12 months or
18.5 hours per week for 24 months *
Location:
Walton Hall
Start date:
1 May 2012 (or as soon as possible
thereafter)
Type of application form accepted:
Long (see section 7 for more details)
Number of referees required:
3
Unit recruitment contact:
Donna Elstob
Closing date:
noon on Thursday 23 February 2012
* Within this pattern we could be flexible if the successful candidate needed more
time at the start of the project to complete the writing up of their PhD.
Human Resources HRG158 Issue 2
January 2010
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2. Summary of duties
The Project: Negotiating Gender in Renaissance Medicine
Professor Helen King has received funding for a Research Assistant to collect data for
research on Negotiating Gender in Renaissance Medicine.
The work will investigate the following: In humoral medical theory, nosebleeds in women
were seen as suppressed menstruation and therefore, at least in theory, encouraged. But
it is clear that they were not always seen in these terms. To what extent was there a
debate about how to identify a nosebleed as ‘menstrual’? What were thought to be the
causes of nosebleeds in general? Do the remedies used vary between men and women,
or between ‘menstrual’ and ‘other’ bleeding?
Specific tasks will include:

identifying the key discussions of nosebleeds in Renaissance texts: these include
both formal medical treatises and household remedy collections (often
owned/updated by women);
discussing gendered differences, and accounting for the treatments used.

3. Person specification
It will be essential for the successful candidate to be able to demonstrate evidence of the
following:

A good honours degree or MA in a relevant subject, such as (or including the study
of) Latin, Renaissance History, or History of Medicine;

A completed PhD or about to be completed;

Ability to read and translate Renaissance Latin texts;

Understanding of the nature of academic research;

Experience in the preparation and editing of substantial pieces of text;

Experience in the use of IT for text preparation and editing, communication and
administration;

Good literacy and numeracy, i.e. being able to communicate ideas easily orally and
in writing and handle figures effectively;

Initiative and the ability to work with minimum supervision within an agreed
framework;

Able to work as an effective member of a team;

Able to contribute to the planning of the project;

Commitment to the ideals of The Open University, including equality and diversity
issues.
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Additionally it will be desirable for the successful candidate to be able to demonstrate
evidence of the following:




Active research interests in an area or areas related to the project which will
enable swift understanding of project aims and objectives;
Experience in obtaining materials from libraries, archives and other research
facilities;
Experience of working with complex archival material;
Active involvement in relevant national and international networks.
4. Role specific requirements e.g. Shift working
5. About the unit/department
Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts consists of about 100 academic staff plus support staff, who are
responsible for the production, presentation and maintenance of some 80
undergraduate and postgraduate modules covering a wide range of arts subjects.
About twenty-five of these academic staff are staff tutors based in the
Regional/National Centres.
The Arts Faculty supports internationally-recognised research in all of the academic
areas represented by its staff and made substantial submissions to seven units of
assessment in the UK’s 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. Individuals are
generously supported, but research is increasingly focused in groups that work
within departments, across faculties, or in collaboration with other institutions: a
number of these groups and individuals in them have recently received major
funding from the AHRC, ESRC, The Wellcome Trust and other bodies. A rich
variety of seminars and conferences is organised by Open University staff and the
Faculty's research culture is further enriched by over 100 full- and part-time
research students.
The Faculty offers opportunities for study at all levels taught at The Open
University. At level 1 we have a suite of short modules and also the 60 point
module The Arts Past and Present which provides an introduction to all the subjects
taught and to the interdisciplinary methods which have been a speciality of the
Faculty from the foundation of The Open University. A new Level 1 module, Voices
and Texts, started in the autumn of 2010. Students may continue to pursue
interdisciplinary methods at level 2 and level 3. Alternatively, at level 2 they may
take modules offering more specialist study which they may then continue at level
3. The Faculty offers taught postgraduate study opportunities in all of its subjects.
At the moment students studying Arts modules may be studying for one of a variety
of awards. At bachelor’s level, Open University students may be studying towards a
general modular BA ordinary degree, a general modular BA honours degree, or a
named honours degree. In Arts we have a BA Hons. History, a BA Hons.
Literature, a BA Hons. English Language and Literature, as well as a BA Hons.
Humanities framework which allows honours or joint honours specialisation for all
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the subjects taught in the Faculty.
The Head of the Faculty is the Dean; currently this is Professor David Rowland.
The Faculty is organised into seven departments: Art History; Classical Studies;
History; English; Music; Philosophy; and Religious Studies. History includes History
of Science, Technology and Medicine. English includes Creative Writing. Among
the Faculty’s recent interdisciplinary productions are modules on heritage and on
archaeology.
For more information about specific departments and the Faculty as a whole,
please see our website at:
www.open.ac.uk/arts/index.html
The University has a number of partner institutions (mainly in the UK, but in some
cases overseas) the relationships with which are administered by The Open
University Validation Services (OUVS). The Faculty is committed to helping OUVS
support these institutions and academic staff have the opportunity to contribute to
this activity by serving on validation and review panels and acting as academic
reviewers for individual institutions.
The Department of Classical Studies
The Department of Classical Studies has been one of the fastest-growing Classics
departments in the country. From a staff of three when it first became a separate
department in 1993, the Department now has twelve academic staff.
Teaching
The Department, which received the top rating of 24 in the 2001 quality assurance
review, teaches around 2,500 students a year at undergraduate level. Some
undergraduates take our modules as part of the broad-based BA in Humanities,
others as part of the specific Classical Studies ‘strand’ (BA in Humanities with
Classical Studies). Some other students take one or two modules simply for their
own career development or personal interest. Providing for this wide range of
expectation and experience within the special context of The Open University
makes teaching for the Department particularly challenging and rewarding.
At level 1 Classical Studies is represented in the Arts Faculty module The Arts Past
and Present (AA100) by three areas of study: Cleopatra, Roman leisure and the
relationship of Seamus Heaney's play The Burial at Thebes to Sophocles' Antigone.
Two modules Voices and Words (A150) and Making sense of things: an
introduction to material culture (A151) also include the study of classical topics.
The Department offers two interdisciplinary modules in classical civilisation.
Exploring the Classical World (A219) is a ‘gateway module’ at level 2, designed to
introduce students to key themes and questions in the study of both Greece and
Rome. Myth in the Greek and Roman worlds (A330) is a new level 3 module. At
second level there is also a global archaeology module, World Archaeology (A251),
which includes sections on the classical world.
In addition the Department offers students the opportunity to study ancient
languages. There are two Latin modules, for beginners at level 2 (A297) with 480
students in 2010, and for continuing students at level 3 (A397) with 207 students.
The Greek offering (A275) (193 students in 2010) combines the teaching of Greek
for beginners and Greek literature in translation (at level 2). Our language modules
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have attracted large numbers of students, making the Department a leading
national provider of teaching in Latin and Greek.
The Department also runs an MA programme in Classical Studies consisting of a
postgraduate foundation module, a subject module on the Greek theatre, and a
dissertation which allows students to pursue their interests and facilitate the
transition to PhD work.
Most of our modules are designed for a life of ten or twelve years, subject to regular
review and adaptation. They carry either 30 or 60 credit points.
Details are available at http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/arts-andhumanities/classical-studies/index.htm.
Research
The Department has a strong research culture and submitted all its members to
RAE 2008. It has a steady stream of research students, and holds regular
departmental seminars, e-seminars, and research conferences. It seeks to provide
an ambitious, flexible and supportive environment for study while maintaining strong
links between teaching and research.
The Department seeks to support, maintain and develop the research for which it is
both nationally and internationally recognised. The RAE 2008 quality profile
determined that 5% of the department’s research was world leading, 25%
internationally excellent, 55% internationally recognized and 15% nationally
recognised.
The Department’s research ranges widely with some projects exploring the impact
of Classical Studies on the contemporary world, material culture, the body and
developing the digital humanities. The Department’s research is focused in three
clusters: Greek and Roman Texts; Material Culture; and Ancient and Modern
Reception of Classical Antiquity. The overlapping membership of the clusters
facilitates synergies between individual and group research. Over the next few
years, the Department aims to develop these three areas, as well as links between
them, to support both individual and collective research. All three clusters feed into
the broader Faculty research themes, Digital Humanities, Material Cultures, Power
and Contestation, Cross-Cultural Identities, The Arts and their Audiences and the
taught curriculum. The Department has a successful record in attracting external
funding and collaborating with external partners and other institutions and aims to
increase its external research income in the future.
The Department has 12 research students at present, supervised by teams in the
Department and supported by the University’s Research School. Many of our
research students study part-time and are conducting research into a wide variety
of areas related to the specialisms of the staff.
For more information about the Department, please visit our website at:
http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/ classical-studies/index.shtml.
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6. How to obtain more information about the role or application process
The information you require to complete the application form is provided in the further
particulars and the information for applicants. If you wish to find out more about The Open
University, there is a comprehensive website at www.open.ac.uk.
In the event that you feel that you do need further information about the post or
clarification on specific points, please contact Professor Helen King by email
h.king@open.ac.uk. However, please be aware that current circumstances mean that we
may not be able to respond to your request immediately.
If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact Donna Elstob
on email Arts-Recruit@open.ac.uk.
7. Where to send completed applications
Candidates are required to complete a long application form in which you should set
out precisely the evidence of how you meet the person specification (addressing
each element in turn) and what you can bring to this post, including your personal
research plans (continuing on not more than 2 sides of A4 paper). Applications
without this information will not be considered. You should also attach a full list
of publications where appropriate.
Your completed application plus 5 copies should be returned by: 12 noon on
Thursday 23 February 2012 to:
Name/Job title:
Donna Elstob, Recruitment Assistant
Department/Unit: Faculty of Arts
Address:
The Open University
1st Floor, Perry C Building
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
Post Code:
MK7 6AA
Or e-mail your application to: Arts-Recruit@open.ac.uk.
Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
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8. Selection process and date of interview
The interview panel will be chaired by Dr Paul Lawrence. The other members of the
interview panel are Dr James Robson, Professor Helen King, Dr Silvia De Renzi and Dr
Lindsay O’Dell. Interviews will be held on Monday 26 March 2012.
The selection process for this post will include a short test in Latin language competence,
in which shortlisted applicants will be given an unseen passage of medical Renaissance
Latin to translate. It may also include shortlisted applicants being asked to submit in
advance of the interview a sample of research writing (e.g. a published article, book or
thesis chapter or comparable material). The submitted material will be discussed with the
applicant as part of the interview process.
We will let you know as soon as possible after the closing date whether you have been
shortlisted for interview. Further details on the selection process will also be sent to
shortlisted candidates.
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