Advert
Application deadline: 30 March, 2023
In 2023, the UK History of Education Society is funding a part-time Fellowship in Bibliographical Studies. This opportunity has arisen due to the Society having been given temporary custody of the working library of Professor Harold Silver (1928-2012), a leading scholar in the field and early activist within the Society.
The purpose of the Fellowship is to:
- provide the Fellow appointed with intellectual development, the experience of undertaking a small-scale research project and the opportunity to publish scholarly articles;
- provide the Fellow with access to the working library of a leading 20th century scholar in the history of education, in order to record the collection and create a profile of its collector from a bibliographical perspective;
- entitle the Fellow: to Membership of the History of Education Society; a subscription to History of Education for the period of their Fellowship; and free attendance at the Society’s annual conference.
It is expected that the Fellowship will be held by a single individual. Applications are welcomed from doctoral students; early career researchers; librarians; and archivists. Online interviews will be held with shortlisted candidates.
The aims of the History of Education Society include the promotion of the study and teaching of the history of education; promoting the public role and an informed public understanding of the history of education by engaging in relevant debates; providing collaboration and exchange among those interested in the history of education in the UK and around the world; and promoting links with the study and teaching of history at all levels.
The Fellowship will begin on 1 July 2023 and conclude on 30 March 2024. It is hoped that the Fellow will be able to commence work no later than 10 July 2023. Within the nine-month period of the project, key milestones will be a presentation at the Society’s annual conference in November 2023 and the preparation of papers for publication over the following four months.
The Fellow will be provided with administrative and mentoring support and advice. Mentoring will be provided by Dr Peter Cunningham, Emeritus Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge and by Professor William Richardson (University of Exeter). Administrative advice will be offered by Dr Susannah Wright, Secretary of the UK History of Education Society (on behalf its Board of Trustees). More details about the Fellowship can be found here. To talk about this opportunity informally, please email Susannah Wright [email protected] or William Richardson [email protected].
The responsibilities of the Fellow are outlined below, together with information about mentoring support, the reward package, logistical arrangements and the process of application.
Further Particulars
The Project and the Responsibilities of Fellow
The project
Project title
‘Harold Silver: An Historian of Education and His Books
Method
The Fellow will conduct a bibliographical exercise, describing and organising titles in the library into themes (using digital images of title pages, contents pages and publishing details supplied by William Richardson).
In addition, the Fellow will conduct a small number of selected interviews with Harold Silver’s remaining contemporaries and with scholars whom he influenced. The project mentors will suggest potential interviewees and assist in providing access to them.
Aim
To make an assessment of the relationship of a significant scholar in the field to his working library and to provide a portrait of the scholar-administrator at work, from a bibliographical perspective.
Likely outcomes
One conference paper and up to two published articles (see below).
Project background and resources
In June 2020 the History of Education Society entered into discussions with Vicki Silver, daughter of Professor Harold Silver (1928-2021),[1] about her father’s working library. As a result, it was agreed that the Society would take temporary custody of this book collection of 300+ volumes, including historic pamphlets, reports and secondary literature. The purpose of this loan was to delay the library being dispersed so as to allow a project to be undertaken on the nature of the collection and its collector.
In parallel, Vicki Silver has organised her father’s papers with the aim of assembling a complete CV and publications list of his work, including an initial analysis of ‘Themes in the writings of Harold and Pamela Silver’. This documentation should prove to be of considerable assistance to an incoming HES Fellow.[2] The Fellow will be encouraged to engage with Vicki Silver to get a feel for the owner of the library.
Specific responsibilities / activities of the Fellow
The specific responsibilities/activities of the Fellow are as follows.
- Attend an online induction meeting with the project mentors to:
- be briefed further on the project and its background
- agree an outline timetable of activities for the nine-month period of the Fellowship
- Receive electronic images of the title page and publishing details of each of the items in the collection
- Begin to design a thematic structure within which to describe the contents of the library.
- Maintain online and video call contact with the project mentors in order to discuss:
- the thematic structure for describing the library
- the format for the recording of bibliographical data for each item in the collection
- the identity of potential interviewees who worked with Harold Silver or have been influenced by his work
- the interview format to be used with interviewees
- Conduct interviews with selected interviewees:
- one pilot interview, to be reviewed subsequently with the project mentors
- a minimum of 3 further interviews
- Prepare a paper to be presented at the HES annual conference in Sheffield in November 2023 (this is likely to describe the project, report on progress to date, and seek discussion on the project design and its intellectual significance)
- Prepare at least one and preferably two papers for publication, in consultation with the project mentors:
- an article for The History of Education Researcher (on bibliography) in time for the May 2023 edition
- an article for the journal History of Education (taking a ‘Sources and Interpretations’ approach to book collecting by scholars and whether this centuries-old tradition has a future)
Mentoring support and progress reports
The Fellow will be mentored for the duration of the Fellowship by Dr Peter Cunningham, Emeritus Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge and by Professor William Richardson (University of Exeter). A tribute to Harold Silver by Peter Cunningham was recently published online by History of Education and can be found at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0046760X.2022.2127929.
In addition, the Fellow will be able to call upon Dr Susannah Wright, Secretary of the UK History of Education Society, for administrative and logistical advice.
The Fellow will be guided through a clear set of activities, along with the provision of more general intellectual development and organisational support. There will be at least two structured review sessions during the course of the Fellowship to assess overall progress in relation to the designated aims and activities.
In addition, the Fellow will be invited to submit a short (one-page) report on progress to each meeting of the Trustees of the History of Education Society (usually held online, three times a year) for the duration of the Fellowship. These reports will be included as standing items on the agenda. In addition, the fellow will be invited to make a short oral (in-person) report to the Society’s AGM, to be held at the annual conference at Sheffield in November 2023.
Duration of the Fellowship, time commitment and location, and reward package
Duration
The Fellowship will begin on 1 July 2023 and conclude on 30 March 2024. It is hoped that the Fellow will be able to commence work no later than 20 July 2023 (but preferably earlier). It is expected that the first of the two papers for publication – seen as the main outcomes of the Fellowship – will have been submitted to The History of Education Researcher by 15 February 2024.
Time commitment and location
It is expected that the Fellow will dedicate at least 14 working days to the project over the duration of the Fellowship that he/she/they will work predominantly from home, although travel away from home (three days) for the November 2023 conference will be required. The Fellow can be based in any locality, but must have ready access to the relevant Information Technology and to a reliable internet connection.
Reward Package
The Fellow will receive:
- £1,860 as a stipend, in two instalments, the timing of which will be agreed prior to the commencement of the Fellowship.
- Membership of the History of Education Society, together with a subscription to History of Education for the period of their Fellowship.
- Free attendance at the Society’s annual conferences (i.e. the student and main conferences). This will include the conference fee (including conference meals if these are additional costs), accommodation costs (to be agreed in advance) and standard class travel expenses within the UK.
Application and Interviews
Background of applicants and the skills to be developed during the Fellowship
Applicants will have a first degree in History, Education or an adjacent subject and, ideally, will be undertaking or have completed a postgraduate degree in the history of education or a cognate field of enquiry. Personal or professional experience of working with bibliographical materials is expected. Applicants should provide contact details for two referees whom we may approach for references.
Applicants will need to demonstrate:
- a commitment to the production of accurate scholarly resources;
- evidence of a thorough and systematic approach to research and the completion of projects;
- an interest in the history of education.
In turn, it is expected that the Fellow will derive a range of personal benefits:
- intellectual development;
- experience of thematic description and cataloguing of a senior scholar’s working library;
- enhanced editorial skills; and
- the opportunity to publish scholarly articles and receive due recognition.
Application process
Applications are welcome from anyone suitably qualified to fulfil the purposes of the Fellowship, as set out above. Previous recipients of a History of Education Society Fellowship are welcome to re-apply for this Fellowship.
Interested applicants should send a letter outlining their suitability for the role and what they would hope to gain from undertaking it. The application should include the names and contact details for two referees and be accompanied by a short Curriculum Vitae (no more than two pages). Applications should be sent to the Society secretary: Susannah Wright email: [email protected]
Application closing date and interview dates:
Applications deadline: Noon (UK time) on 30 March 2023.
Interview date: interviews will take place online in the second half of April 2023, at a time to be agreed with each candidate.
[1] See https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2021/oct/03/harold-silver-obituary and https://decibels.org.uk/news/a-celebration-of-professor-harold-silvers-life/.
[2] In her preliminary categorisation of her father’s writings Vicky Silver has identified three main themes subdivided into 10 separate sections:
1. Social history of education (educational and social movements in the 19th century; education and history; education and the disadvantaged – equality and equity)
2. Higher and further education (histories of institutions; vocationalism; innovation in teaching and learning; external examining; students; others)
3. Education and the policy process (including historiography)