Non-Normative Identities in 20th-21st Century Catalan Cultures

Applications are invited for an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award at Cambridge University, in partnership with Institut Ramon Llull.

This fully-funded studentship is available from October 2024. Further details about the value of an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP award are available on the DTP’s studentships page.

Closing date: 5 December 2023

Project overview

Peculiar in its geopolitical situation, scattered through different states (Spain, France, even the Alghiero region in Sardinia, Italy) and historically silenced and cornered, Catalan culture has maintained a complex, sometimes problematic connection with the notion of the normal/normative. Many scholars and writers  have elaborated on how Catalan culture, from its mere existence, contests and reimagines normative constructions of the state-nation within the European map. Consequently, recent debates on the presence and visibility of non-normative and minoritized identities (an intersectional debate that addresses gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, citizenship status and class), have found in Catalan culture an already existent paradigm to thrive in, and a set of pertinent questions to address.

The PhD student selected for this project will carry original research that addresses the presence of minoritarian/non-normative identities within Catalan cultures. The project will need to address the complexities of subaltern expressions of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, migration, and/or class situated in the framework of Catalan cultures, perhaps exploring the nuanced intertwining of identities and nationhood. Applicants will be asked to propose their own PhD research project, based on their qualifications and interests, that fits within the general parameters specified. The research project will be hosted in the Spanish and Portuguese section (Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics), at the University of Cambridge. The student will, therefore, be based in Cambridge, and benefit not only from its vibrant interdisciplinary research environment, but also from the long-standing interleaving between the city and Catalan culture.

Supervision 

The student will be supervised by Dr Isaias Fanlo (Cambridge), a leading authority in Modern and Contemporary Catalan Cultures, Performance Studies and Queer Studies; and by Victoria Oliva, Coordinator of Programmes at the Institut Ramon Llull. 

How to apply

We invite applications from candidates from all backgrounds and ethnicities. Applications are welcome from candidates from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds relevant to the proposed topic, such as Catalan studies, film, music, architecture and art historical studies, theatre and performance, journalism, media history, race and ethnicity, feminism, and gender and queer studies. Applicants are invited to set out in their application how their profile and their plans would fit the remit of the project. Applicants should meet the eligibility criteria for Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC studentships.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Isaias Fanlo (ifg22@cam.ac.uk) for any questions and guidance before submitting their application.

You should apply to the PhD in Spanish by 5 December 2023 (midday, UK time), indicate your interest in being considered for an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP studentship and submit a completed copy of the OOC DTP Application Form at the same time. Please see the advert on the Cambridge jobs site.