PhD in theatre/performance with archival studies, cultural heritage, digital humanities with a 3.5 year PhD scholarship (offset and stipend) with Murdocuh University in partnership with the Digitisation Centre of WA.

A 3.5 year fee offset scholarship and stipend is available for a PhD commencing in 2023 at Murdoch University under the supervision of Professor Helena Grehan, Law, Arts and Social Sciences, Murdoch University.

For more information on the PhD Scholarship and the broader project please contact:
h.grehan@murdoch.edu.au
The Linkage grant “Life after digitisation: future-proofing WA’s vulnerable cultural heritage”, funded by the Australian Research Council for 4 years (2022-2025), involves researchers from three Western Australian Universities, and one from the University of Queensland (see below). The partners aim to digitise significant cultural collections held across Western Australia, including Aboriginal languages, the WA performing arts collection held by the Perth Theatre Trust, and selected cultural objects of significance from across the State.

The materials held by the Perth Theatre Trust (The Museum of Performing Arts collection MOPA) include costumes, programmes, posters, pay bills, photographs, scripts, scores, recordings and other items from thousands of productions performed across WA since colonisation. The collection includes material from ballet, Shakespearean theatre, vaudeville, contemporary dance, opera, drama, stand-up comedy and more. This PhD Scholarship provides the right candidate with an opportunity to delve into the significant archives held by The Perth Theatre Trust (approx. 45,000 items) and to develop their own project, drawing on and utilising these important cultural artefacts. His Majesty’s Theatre, which houses the collection, has hosted performances by actors from across the globe, including: Dame Nellie Melba, Sir John Gielgud, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Sir Robert Helpmann and Geoffrey Rush and Anna Pavlova.

The successful candidate will work alongside the research team and as well as developing their own important research project, will contribute to the digitisation of this important Western Australian collection. We invite applications from potential candidates interested in performance and theatre studies, archival research, cultural heritage studies and digital humanities. The position is supported by a Murdoch University fee offset PhD scholarship and stipend for 3.5 years.


Institutions and partners
Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University, University of Queensland and University of Western Australia
Western Australian Museum
The Perth Theatre Trust
Kimberley Language Resource Centre (Aboriginal Corporation)
Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre (Aboriginal Corporation)
Mirima Dawang Woorlab-Gerring Language And Culture Centre
Bundiyarra Aboriginal Community Aboriginal Corporation
Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre

More informaiton attached.