AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentship: Uncharted Voices

Learn more about and apply for this fully funded collaborative doctoral studentship starting in October 2026 

https://www.rmg.co.uk/ahrc-collaborative-doctoral-partnership-studentship-uncharted-voices

Uncharted Voices: Subaltern Cultures and Identities in Global Seafaring, 1880–1950

An AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentship with Royal Museums Greenwich and University of Portsmouth

About the project

Applications are invited for a fully-funded four-year PhD to commence on 1 October 2026.

The National Maritime Museum, part of the REACH CDP Consortium, and the University of Portsmouth are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme.

This project will be jointly supervised by Lucy Dale and Dr Hannah Stockton from the National Maritime Museum and Professor Brad Beaven and Dr Karl Bell from the University of Portsmouth. The student will be expected to spend time at both the University of Portsmouth and the National Maritime Museum, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK.

CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for four years or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of eight years.

This PhD proposes a critical investigation of the Campbell McMurray Collection (CMC), a remarkable but unexplored oral history collection housed at Royal Museums Greenwich. Comprising around 500 digitised tapes, the collection captures personal narratives of (primarily British) merchant seamen from the 1890s to the 1950s. Through a thematic analysis of these testimonies, this research will recover hidden maritime voices and explore the complex ways in which seafarers navigated their identities, family relations, cultural interactions, occupational knowledge, and working-class affiliations across maritime and urban domains.

As transient workers, seafarers embodied the migration of people, objects and ideas between distant ports, while navigating their own marginalised positions within imperial and postcolonial worlds. By foregrounding voices from the CMC, some of which belong to migrant, and working-class men, this research addresses the theme of diverse and hidden histories. Integrating analysis of family relations further uncovers emotional and domestic dimensions of global labour histories.

Through collaboration with the National Maritime Museum’s public history initiatives, the project will also contribute to interpreting this archive for broader audiences, enhancing heritage narratives and public engagement. The CMC represents a rich but under-researched source of information about maritime intangible heritage, especially regarding mariners’ cultural practices at sea.

The successful student will be expected to develop their own lines of enquiry and research approach to the project, but initial research questions might include:

• In what ways did merchant seafarers articulate their sense of identity across maritime and urban domains?
• How did seafarers manage family relationships while navigating between maritime and urban lives?
• What sort of traditions and cultural practices at sea did seafarers engage in?
• To what extent were seafarers integrated into or excluded from working-class communities ashore?

The work on this project could involve:

• Professional immersion: The student will gain direct experience in the cultural and heritage sector through a collaborative partnership, spending time at both lead organisations.
• On-site research and training: The role includes four years of embedded training and career development, primarily based at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
• International recognition: Benefit from the Centre of Port Cities and Cultures’ wealth of knowledge and international networks while simultaneously showcasing cutting-edge research.
• Flexible engagement: While the project allows for remote work, the student is encouraged to regularly collaborate on-site with the National Maritime Museum curatorial team to conduct oral history and archival research.