The School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, as part of an GCRF/AHRC-funded research project, Rising from the Depths Network: utilising marine cultural heritage in East Africa to help develop sustainable social, economic and cultural benefits, is seeking to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant for the final dissemination year (Aug 2021 – Jun 2022) of a four year research project.
The Rising from the Depths Network is currently funding 29 projects across in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar looking at the ways in which marine cultural heritage can be harnessed to bring direct benefits to local communities. The project has established a trans-boundary and cross-sector network of arts and humanities-led researchers, government officers, scientists, policy makers, UN officials, NGOs, ICT professionals and specialists working in heritage, infrastructure and the offshore industry, to identify new opportunities and methodologies for protecting and utilising the marine cultural heritage of East Africa to stimulate alternative sources of income, foster local identities, and enhance the value and impact of overseas aid in the marine sector. Information about the project can be found at: http://risingfromthedepths.com.
The University of Edinburgh is leading the network and the final year is about dissemination and making the results of the network as accessible as possible. The Rising from the Depths network is concerned with highlighting the potential of coastal and marine heritage to inform sustainable development approaches and improve the lives of local communities. As our approach is multidisciplinary, we are interested in hearing from researchers with a PhD in any related discipline including archaeology, anthropology, development studies, history, environmental sciences, digital humanities, media, law and coastal management. Experience of working on projects in East Africa and/or of development related work would be an advantage. The PDRA will assist the research team in the monitoring and evaluation of the projects it is funding in East Africa. The PDRA will have specific responsibility for bringing the tools and methodologies used in the funded project together to create a coherent set of policy statements on how engagement with marine cultural heritage can enhance sustainable marine development strategies. These statements will ensure the lessons learned and successful approaches created by the network can be utilised by a range of marine stakeholders from heritage professionals and national governments to local communities and industry. This will involve working with research teams in the region to help identify and create links between the projects completed and funded to date. The candidate will also assist in running dissemination events and creating online content for the Rising from the Depths website. For the latter task experience of creating web content would be an advantage.
The persons appointed will be expected to plan and conduct work in close collaboration with the project Co-Is and with project partners in the region. They will have the opportunity to be involved in publications relating to the outputs of the project. The person appointed will be based in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh and will be expected to work in close collaboration with our University project partners (Roehampton, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Nottingham, Ulster, York and Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique) as well as engage with organisations part of the network (including UNESCO, The World Monuments Fund, The British Museum, the British Institute in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association). The person appointed will be expected to use their initiative and creativity to identify areas for research development and extend their own research portfolio within the broad activity of the network.
Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History jobs 