Postgraduate research programmes in Italian Studies
Italian Studies at Manchester undertakes internationally recognized research, which is both wide-ranging and markedly interdisciplinary, with a particular focus on linguistics, translation studies and cultural politics from the Medieval to the modern period. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise over half of its research activity was deemed to be in the top two categories of 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent', placing it in the upper tier of a small group of elite institutions.
In recent years a considerable number of candidates have pursued PhD research in the field of Italian Linguistics (in part supported by funding of £350K secured from a major AHRC research project award), translation, and Venetian history. Resources for the study of Italian at Manchester are outstanding and underpinned by the holdings of The John Rylands University Library, the third largest academic library in the UK. The Deansgate branch of the JRULM, which has recently undergone a £16m refurbishment, houses the library's special collections which include a world class holding of early Italian printed books from the Spencer, Christie, and Bullock collections.
Italian Studies research students enjoy the thriving research culture of the Institute for Linguistics and Language Studies, which fosters collaboration in training and research across the whole of the North West of England, and of the Institute for Transnational Studies in Languages, Linguistics and Culture.
PhD Funding Opportunities for 2012-13 entry
The School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures at the University of Manchester expects to offer one AHRC Doctoral Studentship to a student starting on PhD research in Italian in September 2012. The award covers full-time fees and maintenance for three years. Furthermore, the School will also be offering a number of funding awards for outstanding PhD candidates.
Interested applicants should submit their applications for doctoral study online by 15 February 2012 and their AHRC applications by1 March 2012. Applications received after this deadline will still be considered for acceptance to the programme but will be ineligible for AHRC funding. Applicants are strongly advised to make contact with potential supervisors well in advance of the deadlines.
The Italian Department at Manchester is one of the largest Italian Departments in the UK with six research active members of staff and a substantial postgraduate community. Members of staff in Italian at Manchester engage in truly interdisciplinary research and would be willing to supervise on a wide variety of topics in the fields of history, literature, cultural history, history of the book, visual culture, Renaissance culture, Dante, linguistics, and cinema studies from the Duecento to the contemporary.
Interdisciplinary and transnational projects are very welcomed since co-supervisions can be arranged across one of the largest School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures in the UK. Co-supervisions with colleagues in History, English, Media studies, Linguistics and Art History would also be possible.
Further information
For further general and specific queries related to application procedure or proposals, please email Dr Francesca Billiani as soon as possible. Arrangements with potential supervisors will be made accordingly.
Italian Studies Recent Thesis Titles
- Testing the Interclausal Relations Hierarchy: Aspectual and Modal Periphrases in Modern Sardinian
- Public History and Collective Memory in Venice and Venetia, 1815-1915.
- Translation as Potential Catalyst for Social Change? A Comparison Between Feminine Models from Foreign Fiction, Fascist Discourse and Italian Culture and Society (1922-1945)
- Modern and Contemporary Painting in Dario Argento's films
- Existential Constructions in the Early Italo-Romance Vernaculars
- Translation as Re-Narration in Italian-Canadian Writing: Code-Switching, Focalisation, Voice and Plot in Nino Ricci's trilogy and its Italian translation
- 'Renaissance Aristotelianism: Intellectual Background and Exegetical Framework of Lodovico Castelvetro's Commentary to Dante's Inferno'
- 'Transitivity and Auxiliary Distribution in the Dialects of Italy: Three Case Studies'
Programmes
- Italian Studies MPhil
- Italian Studies PhD
- Translation and Intercultural Studies PhD
- Translation and Intercultural Studies MPhil
Further Information
For information on how to apply, fees and funding, and postgraduate study in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, please visit the: