Applications are invited for a PhD position as part of the Australian Research Council funded project The History of the Hourglass.
This PhD research opportunity forms part of a project that undertakes the first history of the hourglass from its origins c.1300 through to its global circulation in the sixteenth century. The most precise time-measurement device of its era, the hourglass changed the course of history through its role in maritime travel, scientific experiments and everyday time management. It transformed time into a silent, interior flow crucial to a wide range of cultural projects: in Cairo classrooms or alchemical labs; in the cook’s kitchen or preacher’s pulpit. Alongside its critical intervention in the history of time, the project seeks to pioneer new scientific methods for analysing these fragile objects, with major benefits for their conservation in Australian and international collections.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative, world-leading research team investigating the intersections of the history of temporalities and material culture. The successful candidate will receive advanced research training while developing skills in digital humanities, the analysis of visual and material culture and materials conservation through an innovative interdisciplinary research project.
The successful applicant will receive a scholarship package which includes a tuition fee waiver and living allowance up to 3.5 years.
Expressions of Interest close Monday 21 September at 1700 (Melbourne time). For more infomation, visit https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/opportunity/1790-histories-of-the-hourglass