AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership PhD with University of York

Hacking the Big Smoke – Alternate Reality and London’s Archaeology

Through our AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership, Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) aims to develop future leaders, specialists and advocates for archaeology, as well as extend our strong record of academic collaboration and engagement. This fully-funded PhD will be supervised by University of York’s Dr Colleen Morgan with Dr Stuart Eve and Jessica Bryan at MOLA.

The studentship will investigate the use of Alternate-Reality Games (ARGs) to engage in archaeological storytelling, using materials and expertise at MOLA. An ARG uses the real world as a platform for digitally-augmented, participatory storytelling that can be altered by the people playing the game. ARGs are uniquely suited to interacting with archaeological data: they are immersive, location-aware, collectively played, and often explore real-world scenarios. This immediately evokes the immersion described by archaeologists navigating London; they can “see” the previous excavations, trace stories through patterns of bricks in walls, envision layers of Victorian terraced houses and Roman villas beneath the glass and steel skyline. Despite previous research in education and user experience design, ARGs have remained unexplored within archaeology, even though there is clear resonance with citizen science and contemporary exploration of archaeological landscapes.

Could a serious ARG based around the city of London, its historic fabric and the archaeological objects found within it, enhance our knowledge of London’s history, produce more data and allow Londoners and visitors to engage more deeply with their historic environment?

The PhD research will create a unique multimedia public engagement experience, incorporating MOLA’s extensive knowledge and collections, and involving new and different audiences with an innovative form of citizen science. The student will spend time at York and MOLA and become part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK. The PhD can be studied full or part-time.

Eligibility

We encourage the widest range of potential students to apply for this studentship. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those under-represented in science, and those who self-identify as being from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME/Global Majority) background, and who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills. For informal enquiries please contact the primary supervisor Colleen Morgan (colleen.morgan@york.ac.uk).

Applicants will require at least a 2.1 or equivalent undergraduate degree (and ideally a Masters) in archaeology, digital humanities, interactive media, user-experience design and computing or a related subject, or equivalent professional experience.

Funding Notes

The doctoral training grant funds full-time studentships for 45 months (or part-time equivalent). The studentship can be extended for an additional 3 months to provide professional development opportunities, or up to 3 months of funding may be used to pay for the costs the student might incur in taking up professional development opportunities. The studentship covers (i) a tax-free annual stipend at the standard Research Council rate (currently £17,668 for 2022-3), (ii) £1000/year to enable collaboration with MOLA, (iii) an additional allowance from MOLA of up to £1000/year for research expenses, (iv) a CDP maintenance payment of £550/year, and (v) tuition fees at the UK rate.

Application deadline: 15 April 2023. Interviews take place w/c 1 May 2023 and the studentship will start 1 October 2023. Further information on the University of York website.