CFA: 3 year PhD based in the International Centre for Sport History and Culture (ICSHC)

SPORT, ETHNICITY & COMMUNITY IN LEICESTER

A fully funded (fees and maintenance) 3 year PhD based in the International Centre for Sport History and Culture (ICSHC), De Montfort University, Leicester. This will be supervised jointly by Prof. Richard Holt (Director of International Centre for Sport History and Culture, De Montfort University) and John Williams (Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Leicester).

Why does Leicester seem to ‘work’ from the perspective of relations between the indigenous ‘white’ community and its ethnic minorities? Sport often provides an important vehicle for migrants to enable community formation and integration into the ‘mainstream’ life of the city. Local sport can also operate as a site of cultural resistance which can bring both inter-ethnic hostility and wider discrimination to the surface. These are the key issues we aim to explore from c. 1960s to c.1990s. This PhD will use both conventional historical sources including the press and council records as well as conducting interviews to create an oral history of first generation sporting experience amongst Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Afro-Carribean immigrant communities.

You will preferably have a background in contemporary history and sociology/anthropology with an interest in ethnicity issues, though this is not a requirement. Candidates should be interested in sport but do not require a specialist or technical knowledge of sport. This project offers an exceptional opportunity to work in a rapidly developing area and to conduct genuinely interdisciplinary research. For an informal discussion of the PhD bursary contact Prof. Holt (RHolt@dmu.ac.uk) or John Williams (jxw@le.ac.uk).

Application forms can be obtained from Anne McLoughlin (amcloughlin@dmu.ac.uk) and should be submitted by 31 May 2008. The starting date is 1 October 2008 or 1 Jan 2009.