Remembering William Shakespeare, English - PhD (Leverhulme Trust Funded) Ref: 5534

Supervisors

Lead Supervisor - Professor Philip Schwyzer, University of Exeter

A PhD studentship is available as part of the Leverhulme Trust-funded research project ‘Shakespearean Graves: Literature and the Anglophone Way of Death’. This PhD will focus on how Shakespeare has been commemorated from the early modern period to the present, including through physical monuments and memorials. The successful candidate will work as part of a project team investigating the role of Shakespeare’s language in Anglophone cultures of death and remembrance. The project’s interdisciplinary approach, and its expanding database of Shakespearean memorials, will assist the PhD student in developing innovative methods and perspectives for the study of Shakespeare’s own commemoration.

From the point of his death in 1616, Shakespeare has been commemorated both in physical memorials and in poems arguing that his works are the best monument to his life. From the eighteenth century to the present, memorials to Shakespeare have proliferated on a global scale, in forms ranging from grand monuments to portable mementos, stamps and currency, and commemorative events. Attention to how, when, and where Shakespeare has been commemorated will shed light on his varying cultural and ideological significance across both space and time.

The successful applicant will have a role in selecting the focus of their research, though it should be both cross-period and global in its scope. Themes explored in the PhD may include: Shakespeare's role in Imperial and Commonwealth history; the relationship between physical and literary monumentality; monuments and canon formation; the rise of Shakespeare tourism; the impact of fandom and celebrity culture on Shakespeare commemoration; the material culture of mementos and souvenirs; commemoration as creative appropriation; and how monuments situate Shakespeare in relation to his works, including through quotation. It is not expected that a single PhD thesis would cover all of these topics in equal depth.

Questions to be explored will include: What cultural and political factors lie behind the decision to commemorate Shakespeare in a given time and place? How do memorials to Shakespeare adopt or adapt his own commemorative strategies?  How does Shakespeare’s commemoration intersect or coincide with the commemoration of other individuals or events?

The successful candidate will be lead-supervised by the PI, Prof. Philip Schwyzer, with the appointment of co-supervisors (possibly from allied fields such as History, Heritage Studies, Drama, or Digital Humanities) dependent on the project’s focus and methods.

Involvement in the project provides advantages that are not available for a standalone PhD. These include: (1) working as part of team in developing approaches to the textual and material culture of commemoration; (2) a grounding in digital humanities research methods through discussions with other project members; (3) support for travel to relevant archives and sites of Shakespearean commemoration in the UK; and (4) an opportunity to publish research in project publications.

For more information about the project and informal enquiries, please contact the primary supervisor, Professor Philip Schwyzer

Entry requirements

Applicants should have at a minimum a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant subject area such as English, History or Heritage Studies and have obtained, or are currently working towards, a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant subject area such as English, History, or Heritage Studies. 

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency.  Click here for more information. 

·         Applicants would be expected to start their studies in September 2025.

·         Recipients are expected to commit to engagement beyond their doctoral studies through contributing to the research environment of their discipline and the Faculty by participating in research activities, accessing skills development training and opportunities and career development etc. Continued funding would be dependent on satisfactory evidence of this engagement having taken place. 

Please note that these studentships are only open to applicants who will start their study in September 2025, not those who have already started. 

Applications will only be supported for campus-based programmes as this studentship is not open to Distance-Learning programmes.

International students can apply and pay the difference in tuition fees.

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. You will be asked to submit the following by 19 May 2025:  

·         A covering letter outlining your proposed research focus, prior research experience and reasons for wishing to undertake the project

·         A CV

·         Proof of academic track record (transcripts/certificates)

·         Two references, at least one to be an academic reference

·         Proof of your English language proficiency, if relevant

Please submit all documents, apart from your references and degree transcripts, as one combined file and submit this against the research proposal section of the application form.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

Please quote reference 5534 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Reference information
It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 19 May 2025.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

For general information about this studentship and the application process, please contact PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk

Summary