Supporting research leadership within the Arts and Humanities

Posted on 14 December 2012

Seven new Fellowships have been announced by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The awarded Fellows will undertake focused individual research projects alongside research leadership development, training and engagement activities which have the potential to generate impact within academia and beyond.

Through the life time of the award they will also act as advocates for the value and benefit of arts and humanities research to publics beyond academia.

Professor Mark Llewellyn commented: “We have been delighted with the quality of these first proposals under the revised Fellowships scheme, especially in the combination of research substance and the development opportunities these Fellows will be undertaking. The range of engagements, partnerships and collaborations our researchers are now able to take to a different level through the funding in this scheme is striking. Importantly, this is underpinned by research which is ambitious in scale and scope, and allows the opportunity to support, influence and shape activities well beyond the Fellows’ individual projects.”

These Fellowships provide an opportunity for researchers and research organisations to work in partnership with the AHRC. The Fellowships will increase research leadership capacity within the arts and humanities, through supportive individualised programmes of development, training and engagement.

Professor Llewellyn went on to say “I recognise there has been anxiety among our research community about the concept of research leadership. But what these first Fellowships demonstrate very clearly is that leadership comes in different forms, can be supported in divergent ways and needs to work within individual disciplinary contexts and career stages as well as the broader arts and humanities environment. I’m really looking forward to working with this group of researchers over the coming months and to developing the cohort of Fellows that will be emerging from this scheme in the next few years.”

The first set of Fellowship Awards is:

Professor Stuart Taberner, University of Leeds, German-language Literature and Transnationalism £114,058
Professor Jean Boase-Beier, University of East Anglia, Translating the Poetry of the Holocaust £ 93,013
Dr Helen Finch, University of Leeds, Literary testimony, transnational memories: The politics of transmission of Holocaust testimony in the German cultural field £59,264
Professor Alison Donnell, University of Reading, Caribbean Queer: Desire, dissidence and the constructions of literary subjectivity £80,903
Dr Mark Hewitson, University College London, The Violence of War: Images and Experiences of Conflict £159,486
Dr Amanda Lillie, University of York, Architecture in Italian Renaissance Painting £136,942
Dr Allan Hazlett, University of Edinburgh, Intellectual Virtue and the Good Life: Ethical and Epistemic Values £102,966

For further information, please contact:

Danielle Moore-Chick, AHRC: 01793 416021 d.moore-chick@ahrc.ac.uk

1. The AHRC’s Fellowships scheme is for researchers across the arts and humanities development research leadership. The scheme provides time for research leaders, or potential future research leaders, to undertake focused individual research alongside collaborative activities which have the potential to generate a transformative impact on their subject area and beyond. In addition to demonstrating support for high quality, world leading research and associated outputs, proposals must include collaborative activities to support the development of the Fellow’s capacity for research leadership in the arts and humanities.

2. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds world-class, independent researchers in a wide range of subjects: ancient history, modern dance, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, English literature, design, the creative and performing arts, and much more. This financial year the AHRC will spend approximately £98m to fund research and postgraduate training in collaboration with a number of partners. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

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