PhD student wins Huntington scholarship
Nicola Kirkby, a PhD student in the Department of English, will soon be on her way to California after winning a place on the Arts and Humanities Research Council International Placement Scheme.
The scheme enables research students to enhance and develop their work by funding placements at a number of world-leading institutions, including the Yale Centre for British Art and the Smithsonian Institution.
At the Huntington Library, Kirkby - whose research project is on Victorian rail terminals and their impact on imagination in the nineteenth century - will have access to one of the most extensive collections of research material in the United States in the fields of British and American history.
Speaking about the application process and the reason for applying to conduct research at the Huntington, Kirkby said: ‘My supervisor, Clare Pettitt, forwarded an email about the AHRC-IPS fellowships late last year and I followed a twitter chat with former recipients in December to find out more. Feedback stressed that working with the archives at the Huntington was invaluable, not only for its impact on individual research, but for the confidence instilled by working in such a close-knit community of researchers.
‘Fellowships were available for a range of institutions, but the Huntington Library stood out for my project, 'Victorian Terminals and the Imagination, 1830 -1860', because of its particularly extensive collection of nineteenth-century media, which includes unique correspondence from Charles Dickens, manuscripts by civil engineer I. K. Brunel, and an intriguing assortment of ephemera.
‘Working with the archive will provide an essential historical context for my largely theoretical work, and help me understand the connections and dislocations between the development of railway terminals in Britain, and railroad expansion in the United States.’
The AHRC funds world-class, independent researchers in a wide range of subjects including ancient history, modern dance, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, English literature, design and the creative and performing arts. 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. Visit www.ahrc.ac.uk to find out more.