The Institute of Historical Research has an opportunity for a practitioner interested in working collaboratively with historians to spend April/May to July 2023 within the IHR community. We are particularly keen to support a practitioner with interests in areas such as heritage, film, television and radio, historical fiction, digital content development, podcasting, music, and other creative arts. The practitioner will receive a stipend of £1,000 per month and will be supported to develop their own practice, explore connections with history and historians, and share their work with different audiences. The residency will include the opportunity for an IHR event focused on the appointee’s practice. This residency forms part of the wider School of Advanced Study Practitioner in Residence programme and so offers the additional opportunity to work alongside practitioners embedded in other disciplinary communities at the same time. Applications are welcome from across the UK, and may be held as an in person, hybrid or online-only residency. Practitioners will, at all times, be free to conduct their residency as they see fit.
The Institute of Historical Research is based in the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. It champions the value and importance of History in academic and public life, and provides a space where historians can speak, connect, and be heard. Conceived of as a ‘historical laboratory’, the Institute has long supported experimentation in form and method. It is a home for all historians, and a home for all types of history - a national centre driven by the values of curiosity, integrity, inclusivity, collaboration, care and equality. We believe that knowledge of the past is a public good; that historians can have a vital social purpose; and that there are many different ways of being a historian. We have two key research foci: the Centre for the History of People, Place and the History & Policy network and encourage applications that intersect with our research strengths in place and policy, as well as our interests in historical practice more broadly. We are keen to encourage innovative, imaginative, and boundary-crossing projects which open history up to wide and diverse communities and participants.
The Practitioner in Residence will have full access to the Institute’s research culture and infrastructure including the Wohl Library, digital resources such as British History Online, its many academic seminars, multiple workshops and conferences, and a range of on-going research projects and academics. They will receive mentoring and intellectual support from the Institute’s staff. The Residency also offers access to the other Senate House Libraries, and to the full range of the School of Advanced Study’s intellectual environment including access to the Fellows’ Room.
Selection will be on the basis of a CV and a short statement of up to 1,000 words. This should include a description of the project you would bring to the Institute, which can take any form and shape and must have a historical dimension. Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria: potential to make creative connections with historians; ability to demonstrate the specific ways in which an IHR residency will help your project; feasibility of your plans to contribute to the intellectual life of the Institute during the residency. The latter could include training or mentoring, events, or exhibition work. Information about last year’s residency can be accessed on the IHR and SAS Blogs:
- Diary of a creative practitioner in residence….
- Reflections on a Residency
- Making a drama out of a crisis …
For informal preliminary discussions please email the Institute’s Director, Professor Claire Langhamer. Formal applications should also be submitted to Professor Claire Langhamer.