AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Studentship (PhD)
Medieval Polychrome Sculpture in the Burrell Collection
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY IN COLLABORATION WITH
GLASGOW MUSEUMS
The Faculty of Arts of The Open University has a long history of innovative engagement with
museums, libraries and galleries. As part of an exciting partnership between Glasgow
Museums and The Open University, we are able to offer a three-year, full-time AHRC-funded
studentship for doctoral work on sculpture in the Burrell Collection. The student will join a
community of doctoral students in the Art History Department at The Open University but will be
based primarily in Scotland and will work closely with the Burrell Collection’s staff.
Proposals are invited for any project focused on the collection of medieval polychrome
sculpture at the Burrell Collection, Glasgow, preferably in the period c.1300-c.1550. The Burrell
is particularly strong in late medieval northern European sculpture in a range of materials and
has strong traditions of art historical scholarship, curatorial expertise and an in-house
conservation team.
The student will be supervised by a specialist team in the Department of Art History at The
Open University (Dr Kim Woods and Dr Kathleen Christian) and by Dr Martin Bellamy,
Research and Curatorial Manager and a new Research Manager (Medieval Art) at Glasgow
Museums. For further details of the highly-rated research in the Art History Department at The
Open University, please see http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/arthistory/index.shtml). More
information
about
the
Burrell
Collection
can
be
found
here:
http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/cld.html?cid=534639. For advice prior to a formal
application, please contact Dr Kim Woods (k.w.woods@open.ac.uk) or Dr Martin Bellamy
(martin.bellamy@glasgow.gov.uk).
1
RESEARCH AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
The student will be registered for a PhD within the Art History Department of The Open
University. The Art History Department has particular strengths in late medieval/early modern
European art and has recently hired two new staff members in this area. In RAE2008 the
Department ranked in the top 10 Art History departments in the UK and was the third-highest
rated department in the university. Art History belongs to the Faculty of Arts, which also
includes the departments of Classical Studies, English, History, Music, Philosophy and
Religious Studies. It is internationally recognized for innovative research across the range of its
subject areas. For more information about the Arts Faculty, which has several major AHRCfunded projects, see http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/index.html. There is a strong vision for
developing successful interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and a commitment to
ensuring that our research effectively informs not only our own teaching but a wider process of
knowledge exchange with cultural and heritage partners. The Faculty also hosts a vibrant
programme
of
Digital
Humanities
Research:
http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/digitalhumanities/index.shtml.
The Open University offers an intellectually-exciting research environment at its Walton Hall
campus in Milton Keynes, where the main University facilities are sited. This environment is
supported by a network of 13 national and regional centres where research-active members of
the Arts Faculty also work. These include the Edinburgh offices of The Open University in
Scotland, with which the candidate will have close contact (see below).
The university achieved the second largest climb in UK research rankings in the 2008 RAE,
with more than 60% of its research rated as ‘internationally excellent’ (3*) and 14% as ‘worldleading’ (4*). The Open University’s freely-accessible repository of research publications, Open
Research Online, is now the eighth largest university repository of its kind in the UK. It
averages more than 40,000 individual site visits per month, and has had more than 1.6 million
visitors (from 200 countries) since 2006. It includes more than 15,275 Open University research
outputs. The University’s iTunesU site was launched in 2008 and includes research content.
There have been more than 58 million discrete content downloads from that site, while OU
content on YouTube has reached more than 6.7 million visitors. Open University research
engages with some of the major issues facing contemporary society. Through our exceptional
presence in the nations and regions, augmented by our close links with the BBC and other
media outlets, our research informs public opinion and policy, and promotes debate and
engagement with key questions of the day. The Open University has an extensive doctoral
studies programme, with over 1,000 current postgraduate research students (c.570 studying
full-time on campus, the rest studying part-time, dispersed throughout the United Kingdom and
combining research degrees with work responsibilities). The Arts Faculty currently has 97
postgraduate research students, registered either for a PhD or for an MPhil prior to doctoral
study. Of these 27 are registered for full-time study and the rest are part-time.
The Open University Research School provides an induction programme for new research
students and a training programme. Training areas covered include (for example)
bibliographical databases and other IT skills and managing a research project through its
different stages. The Arts Faculty provides additional study-skills training days focussed on the
particular needs of Arts and Humanities students, including the CHASE consortium’s AHRCfunded training programmes. ‘Becoming a Public Intellectual’ is led by the OU, and the OU
participates in ‘Material Witness’, a programme designed for research students focusing on
medieval and early modern material culture.
The Open University Library offers specially tailored induction sessions and a wealth of online
resources for research. One of the most exciting current developments at The Open University
is the implementation of a Virtual Research Environment, which will provide many training
opportunities as well as resources such as careers advice.
2
Student progress is regularly monitored through six-monthly reports. At the end of the first year
students undergo a thorough probation review process and mini-viva, and their continued
registration is conditional on a satisfactory outcome. For further information see the research
degree prospectus, which can be downloaded from http://www.open.ac.uk/research/researchdegrees/index.php.
RESEARCH AT THE BURRELL COLLECTION AND GLASGOW MUSEUMS
Given the collaborative nature of the studentship, it is likely that (while registered at The Open
University) the successful candidate will spend much of his or her time based primarily in The
Burrell Collection.
Sir William Burrell was one of the major art collectors of the twentieth century. His collection of
over 8,000 objects was gifted to the City of Glasgow in 1944. It includes a broad range of
objects including European medieval and Renaissance decorative arts, Chinese ceramics,
Islamic art and French and Dutch nineteenth-century paintings. The Burrell Collection was
opened in 1983 and played a major role in the transformation of Glasgow’s image from postindustrial gloom to internationally renowned city of culture. A major refurbishment and redisplay
of the collection is currently being planned and a research programme is being implemented
that will inform this project.
The European medieval sculpture in the collection dates from the ninth century to the late
sixteenth century. It includes some very fine wooden figural polychrome sculpture largely from
dismantled pre-Reformation German altarpieces, as well as some Netherlandish pieces. It was
described in 1983 as ‘the most important ensemble of Gothic sculpture in the British Isles, with
the exception of that in the Victoria and Albert Museum’ but the individual pieces have never
been studied in depth or published and remain largely unknown amongst scholars.
Glasgow Museums is involved in a broad range of fundamental research projects to help
understand and disseminate understanding of the collections. In 2002 the Research and Major
Projects section was established with the dual function of sustaining professional standards and
facilitating fundamental collections-related research. It remains the only civic museum service
with a dedicated research section. This section and associated curatorial staff have a range of
current research projects and a strong track record of publication. The catalogue of Italian
paintings has recently been published, and work on scholarly catalogues of the Burrell
tapestries and French art is well underway. This PhD will make a significant contribution to both
the redisplay of sculpture and to a scholarly catalogue of the Burrell sculpture collection.
The student will work through an induction programme with Glasgow Museums that will
introduce object handling, museum documentation and object research. The student will be
embedded formally within Glasgow Museums’ Research and Curatorial team. The student will
use the Burrell collection and archive to investigate the themes of the doctorate and will also
work with relevant staff members to develop his or her knowledge and experience of museum
practice. The student will join Glasgow Museums' Research and Curatorial team for quarterly
meetings, the annual collections research conference and for ad hoc meetings. He or she will
also be able to participate in management meetings and creative discussions with the
conservation and Burrell Collection teams. The student will have access to hot desks at the
Burrell Collection and Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.
The student will be allowed opportunities for career and professional development as if they
were a member of staff within Glasgow Museums, identifying and addressing (where practical)
training needs. In effect the student will have completed additionally to his or her PhD thesis
what could amount to an extensive work placement (the exact nature of which will be discussed
3
and agreed with the supervision team). The student will therefore be more immediately
attractive to potential employers than is often possible after more conventional postgraduate
study.
PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
In addition to completing an Open University application form, you will need to supply a
research proposal. This should set out (in a maximum of 1500 words) your ideas for the
research you would like to undertake during your doctoral studies. There is no set format for a
proposal but you should initially conduct a survey of existing work in the field, and make sure
you include:
1.
The title of your project
2.
A clear summary of the proposed research. Drawing on your own review of the literature
already existing in your field, you need to set out the questions you wish to pose and
answer. Your summary should also cover the following points:
 Why is this an important subject? (A thesis needs to add something to the sum of our
knowledge – how would yours do this?)
 What is new about your thesis? (This could be new questions posed, new sources
studied, a new approach etc.)
 How does your thesis relate to other publications in the field? Do you plan to confirm
certain points of view, or to refute them?
 What sources might you need to use?
 Can you give an indication of the methodology and time frame you will propose for
your research?
3.
A Bibliography. You need not have read everything you list here, but you should give an
indication of your awareness of the primary and secondary sources available to you.
Stipend, expenses and facilities
The studentship carries a maintenance grant at the level set by the research councils (currently
£13,726 per annum for 13/14) as well as covering UK/EU tuition fees. There is an allowance for
training and project-related research costs subject to a standard £1,000 annual limit, with preapproval of specific research plans, and Glasgow Museums will also make available an
additional £1000/yr to the student. The successful candidate will be provided with a notebook
computer. He or she will also have access to video conference facilities through the OU’s
Edinburgh Office, for instance if helpful for supervision meetings.
Requirements
It is essential that the successful candidate has:
 Good academic qualifications in an Arts and Humanities subject (ie a 1st or 2:i degree
from a UK institution or equivalent from a non-UK institution and/or a Masters degree)
 Demonstrable ability to produce high-level academic writing
 Evidence of the self-discipline and organizational skills required to complete a major
academic project in three, or at most four, years
 Willingness to participate in the broader intellectual communities of The Open
University and Glasgow Museums
4
In addition, it is desirable that the successful candidate has:


a Masters degree in a relevant Arts and Humanities subject
experience of working with museum objects
How to apply: Applications are through the standard Open University research degree
application form online at
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/explained/how_to_apply.htm
For practical advice on the applications procedure, contact the Research Degrees Team
(research-degrees-arts@open.ac.uk) or 01908 653806). For discussion of the academic
content of studentship, please contact Dr Kim Woods (as above).
Please note that this studentship is subject to the eligibility regulations for AHRC
awards and applicants are strongly advised to consult the guidance prior to preparing
an application: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Student-Funding-Guide.pdf.
CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 14 June
INTERVIEWS ANTICIPATED: 24 or 25 June
IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE STUDENTSHIP WILL START 1 OCTOBER 2013.
Equal Opportunity is University Policy.
5