PhD Scholarship: Visual Medical Humanities

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$28,092 p/a, 3 years

Artwork from Valverde

The Australian National University is offering a PhD scholarship for a candidate interested in Art History, Visual and Material Culture, Medical History, Medical Humanities, Disability Studies or, preferably, a combination of the above. The candidate will work with Dr. Keren Hammerschlag, with funding from the ANU Futures Scheme, on a topic related to the Visual Medical Humanities.

The Visual Medical Humanities, which encompasses museum studies, art history and art practice, has been recognised as a major area for research and teaching innovation in the new critical Medical Humanities. In the Medical Humanities, medicine engages with the humanities, social sciences, and arts, with a focus on the body, health and disease, patient experience, and the doctor-patient encounter. It includes the history of medicine, cultures of medicine, disability studies, gender and the body, bioethics and public health.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with Dr Hammerschlag and a team from the Centre for Art History and Art Theory / School of Art and Design to develop the Visual Medical Humanities at the ANU through the pursuit of cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, conference organisation and participation, and teaching.

Doctoral research may investigate topics such as:

  • Visual Cultures of Western and Non-Western Medicine
  • Local and /or Global Anatomy
  • Depictions of Health and Disease
  • Bodies in Art and Medicine
  • Medical and Scientific Objects
  • Museum Practice and the Ethics of Display
  • Picturing Public Health, Bioethics and Healthcare
  • Medicine and Medical Technologies in Contemporary Art

Applications should have:

  • A first-class Honours (H1) in Art History or equivalent degree in a relevant field
  • Be a creative, critical, independent thinker with excellent communication and collaboration skills
  • Be available to commence full-time study in 2021.

How to Apply

Available to Australian domestic and international students.

Send a cover letter (maximum 1 page), thesis proposal (maximum 3 pages), CV (maximum 2 pages), and the names and contact details of two referees to keren.hammerschlag@anu.edu.au.

Queries should be directed to Dr Hammerschlag at the above email address.

Applications open 1 June 2020 and close 31 August 2020.

Note that the successful applicant will still have to apply through the usual channels to the CASS PhD program.