‘Unsettling Scientific Stories: expertise, narrative and future
histories’ is an AHRC funded project which investigates how the history
of the future was written over the course of the 20th
century. It examines the different ways in which the sciences were used
by novelists, commentators, politicians and academics to envision the
future history of western society, and how the public both informed and
responded to these conceptualisations.
Working under the supervision of the project’s PI, you will take a
lead role in developing one of the project’s key outcomes: an
interactive imaginative participant ethnography, housed within the
project’s website. This innovative methodology combines data generation
with public engagement, building on the popular appetite for speculative
fiction to encourage a two-way dialogue between the project and wider
expert and lay publics. Additionally, you will cooperate closely with
other project members (based in Newcastle and Aberystwyth) in order to
develop the other project components, including other elements of the
project website, be lead author on at least one peer-reviewed article
arising out of the project’s work and assist in the organisation of
conferences and meetings linked to the project.
You will need a PhD in the history/sociology of science, or a related
discipline, or equivalent experience and you will need to find reading
(or writing) SF an absorbing, fascinating and exciting pastime.
The salary will be £30,434 per year and the position is available for a period of up to 30 months.
Closing date: Midnight on Monday 23 November 2015
Further details here.
