The Media Discourse Centre at De Montfort University welcomes applications from prospective PhD candidates who wish to obtain DMU Full Bursary Scholarships. As a research collective dedicated to the critical analysis of the contemporary social order, with a particular emphasis on the global character of mediated communication, MDC’s work encompasses a wide range of research projects, including: protest cultures and social movements, narratives of collective identity (class, gender and ethnicity), progressive models of journalism, communal social media use, investigative journalism (in partnership with the Channel Four/De Montfort MA team), the politics of technology, critical studies of narrative and discourse, surveillance studies, and race and the postcolonial.
The Centre would, therefore, encourage submissions from applicants interested in developing interdisciplinary research that is both theoretically sophisticated and methodologically innovative, in critical fields related to media representation and framing, mediated activism, and/or radical interventions in the (re)composition of public narratives. These forms of enquiry could include critiques of national, transnational, or regional cultures and communicative practices, international initiatives (like the UNSDGs), as well as studies of resistance to disciplinary, myopic or repressive discourses.
Candidates applying to the Media Discourse Centre (www.dmu.ac.uk/mdc) should, in the first instance, submit a research proposal of 750 words (maximum) to Professor Stuart Price, at sprice@dmu.ac.uk, marked ‘MDC/DMU Bursary’, and should be accompanied by a CV. The material should be received by noon on Monday, 24thFebruary. If notified of acceptance, the candidate will be encouraged to make a comprehensive application to pgrscholarships@dmu.ac.uk, clearly marked with MDC and the suggested supervisory team, by the deadline of 9th March 2020. Full details and the application form can be accessed at https://www.dmu.ac.uk/doctoral-college/study/scholarships.aspx.
The proposal should encompass the following elements:
o title of project
o the primary goal of the research (hypothesis/problematic) in one paragraph
o original contribution to knowledge
o theoretical perspective/position adopted within the project
o research methods suited to the successful completion of the thesis
o alignment with MDC and potential supervisors (https://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/mdc/members.aspx)
Best wishes
Stuart Price
Professor of Media and Political Discourse
Media discourse centre 