Barnes, Dr C R (School of Oriental and African Studies, Department of African Languages and Culture)
Poets, Politicians and Pastoralists – Popular Somali Nationalism, 1943–1960
The aim of Dr Cedric Barnes’ research is to ask how the previous problem of the Ethiopian imperial frontier competing against the colonial boundary of British Somaliland, was transformed into a ‘national’ issue through which segmentary Somali society could unify. This question will be explored through the collection of oral political poetry, in particular the form known as heelloy. Heelloy, as a source of oral history, is particularly rich since, in Somali society, poetry represents the purest form of political expression and debate. The recording of heelloy therefore, will make a fascinating indigenous source and provide a rich and sensitive account of debates surrounding Somali nationalism and irredentism, to complement records preserved in the necessarily partisan and limited official British archives of the period.
Bayo, Dr J C (University of Manchester, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies)
Towards a New Understanding of the Text of the Cantar de Mio Cid
Dr Juan Carlos Bayo’s research will focus on the Cantar de Mio Cid, the greatest epic of Spanish literature, and one of the most important in the Romance tradition. He will undertake a comprehensive study of the only medieval manuscript of the work which has been preserved, and then produce a reliable text according to new concepts on its system of versification which are more adequate than principles of emendation applied in the current approaches to the editing of this poem.
Brunt, Dr L (St John’s College, Oxford)
European Agricultural Development, 1700–1850
The aim of Dr Liam Brunt's research is to measure and explain the variation in labour productivity in agriculture, both across countries and over time. It was the increase in labour productivity in agriculture which broke the Malthusian trap and permitted workers to be released to the cities, hence fuelling the European industrial revolutions. An important component of the work will be an analysis of the role of new technology in raising output per worker.
Bullock, Dr P R (Wolfson College, Oxford)
A History of the Russian Art Song
Dr Philip Ross Bullock’s research aims to study the history of the Russian art song from its origins in the mid-eighteenth century to the present day. The project will explore the selection and setting of poetic texts, the development of musical forms and techniques, and the changing culture of performance and reception. Broader conclusions will be made about the status of the art song in modern Russian culture.
Corsín Jimenez, Dr A (St Hugh’s College, Oxford)
Mercurial Geographies: A Spatial History of the Mining Communities of the Atacama Desert in the 20th Century
The aim of Dr Corsín Jimenez’s research project is to investigate the ways in which the landscape and geography of the Atacama Desert (Chile) impinged on the lives of the mining communities that populated the desert throughout the twentieth century. The project will compare the various narratives of the desert's colonization and settlement (the miners, the mining corporations, the state and the church), and the various modes through which history was institutionalised as people reflected on their past. The project is a case study in the analysis of the cultural politics of memorialising and forgetting, the shaping of memory through material culture (abandoned nitrate refineries, deserted railway lines) and the subsequent formation of social identities.
Dew, Dr N (University of Cambridge, Faculty of History)
French Scientific Expeditions under Louis XIV
Dr Nicholas Dew’s project aims to explore the relationship between early modern science and colonialism, by re-telling the history of the Paris Académie des Sciences from the perspective of the expeditions that it organised in the period c.1670–1720. The Académie sent envoys to the Caribbean, North America, West Africa and to the Far East, to make observations designed to contribute to the improvement of astronomy and geography. The story of these early expeditions can help us to understand the processes by which science became a global activity by the early eighteenth century.
Gainsborough, Dr J M (University of Warwick, Department of Politics and International Studies)
Politics and Business: An Analysis of the Changing Role of Local Government in Four Vietnamese Cities in Transition
The aim of Dr Martin Gainsborough’s research is to gain a better understanding of the changing nature of local government in Vietnam during the period of transition from central planning to a market economy. It will do this through the prism of state involvement in business, comparing the experiences of four Vietnamese cities. To explain the differing stance of local government towards economic development, a number of hypotheses will be considered. These address matters such as the prevailing fiscal arrangements, sources of capital, and the nature of resource endowments on the eve of reform.
Griffin, Dr E (University of Cambridge, Faculty of History)
A Cultural History of the Market Square in England, 1660–1800
Dr Emma Griffin’s research aims to provide a cultural history of the market square in English towns during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It will consider the mechanisms by which these historic open spaces were progressively built upon and turned into private property during this era of civic ‘improvement’ and will seek to understand the motivation behind this development. It will also set out to explore the social and cultural ramifications of this transformation of urban space for the town dwellers who had traditionally worked, socialised and played there.
Harris, Dr J A (University of Oxford, sub-Faculty of Philosophy)
A History of the Free Will Problem in British Philosophy, c.1650–c.1900
Dr Harris’ project is to write the first comprehensive history of the free will problem in Britain between 1650 and 1900. Four topics in particular will form the focus of this research: the fate of the Calvinist doctrine of man; the application of the ‘experimental method of reasoning to the question of liberty and necessity; the influence of consequentialist ethics upon thought about human freedom, and the impact upon the free will problem of the early twentieth century distinction between philosophy and psychology. The aim is to produce a case-study in the interpenetration of metaphysical, ethical, theological and scientific ideas that characterizes pre-twentieth century British philosophy.
Haynes, Dr C (University of East Anglia, School of World Art Studies and Museology)
Idol or Ornament? Images in the Church of England, 1660–1760
The research to be undertaken by Dr Clare Haynes considers the vivid visual culture of the Church of England during the period 1660 to 1760. There was a wide diversity of opinion within the Church over doctrine, ecclesiology and theology, and the issue of religious art touched on all these questions. By using works of art, sermons, court records, newspapers and parish records, among other sources, this study explores how religious images pressed on issues such a social formation, the parish as community, the role of the Church within the state, as well as the contested identity of the Church of England itself.
Heale, Dr M R V (University of York, Department of History)
The Monastic Superior and his Role in Late Medieval England
Dr Martin Heale’s research will examine the role of the abbots and priors of late medieval England, both within and without their monasteries. Although theoretically sovereign over his house’s affairs, the superior’s power was limited in various ways by his community and by external forces. This project will explore the nature and extent of these limitations, together with the influence exerted by monastic superiors in late medieval English society as a whole.
Henry, Dr W B (University of Oxford, Faculty of Literae Humaniores)
A New Edition of Pindar
The aim of Dr W B Henry’s research will be to produce a new edition of the extant works of the Greek lyric poet Pindar. The text of the standard edition can be improved on in many places, and the provision of fuller and more accurate information about the sources of the text will be a boon to those undertaking serious work on the author. A fresh examination of the papyri published in the last century can be expected to yield new insights into the fragmentary works.
Henson, Dr K (University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music)
Physiognomies of Opera: Voice and Performance on the Fin-de-Siècle Stage
Dr Karen Henson's research will focus on the neglected subject of operatic performance, and will investigate in particular certain singer-composer relationships in fin-de-siècle France. Although the nineteenth century is often seen as a period of decline in the singer’s creative influence, the special connections that existed between (for example) Bizet and his first Carmen, Célestine Galli-Marié, or Massenet and the soprano Sibyl Sanderson, invite reconsideration of this question. They also provide points of entry into broader themes: those of transition from a ‘living’ operatic tradition to our present-day repertory of ‘classics’; and of the emergence of a wider social world that, with its photographs and phonographs, was becoming recognisably modern.
Hill, Dr P (University of Oxford, Department of Sociology)
The Relationship between Indigenous and Immigrant Criminal Groupings in Contemporary Japan
In his research project Dr Peter Hill will explore the different relationships existing between theyakuza/boryokudan syndicates, which comprise Japan’s native organised crime community, and the various non-Japanese criminal gangs currently operating in Japan. The project is based on the premise that the defining characteristic of organised crime is the private provision of protection to primarily, but not exclusively, illegal actors. Accordingly the study will examine the factors influencing the demand for, and supply of, protection amongst these different criminal organisations with particular attention to the nature of the transactions between incumbent and foreign criminal organisations.
Hinds, Dr P (University of Birmingham, Department of English)
Roger L’Estrange and the Regulation of Political Discourse in Seventeenth-Century England
Dr Peter Hinds’ research will concentrate on the life and writings of Roger L’Estrange (1616–1704). During the reigns of Charles II and James II L’Estrange was the Surveyor of the Press, the Licenser of the Press, a Justice of the Peace, and a Member of Parliament. This project will look at how he used these offices in his attempts to regulate the activities of the book trade and control the circulation of political discourse, particularly in London. Whilst the main focus will be on the production, distribution and reception of printed and manuscript material, L’Estrange’s efforts to regulate the spoken word in such venues as coffee houses, taverns, conventicles and pulpits will also be examined.
Hoare, Dr M A (University of Cambridge, Faculty of History and Robinson College)
The National Question in Serbia during World War II
Dr Marko A Hoare’s research concerns the politics of the civil war in Serbia of 1941–44, fought between Communist (Partisan), royalist (Chetnik) and quisling factions with contrasting programmes for Serbian national rebirth. Soviet intervention in 1944 ensured the victory of the Partisans who thereupon transplanted their embryonic state structures, created in ethnically heterogeneous Bosnia-Hercegovina, onto ethnically homogenous and predominantly royalist Serbia. This necessitated the co-option of non-Communist Serbian elements, and an appropriate redefinition of Serbian national ideology, including its relationship to Kosovo, Bosnia-Hercegovina and other coveted lands.
Kemp, Dr S (University of Sussex, School of Social Sciences)
The Politics and Epistemology of the Social Inquirer and Lay Audience Relationship
The aim of Dr Stephen Kemp’s research is to produce a new account of the nature of dialogue and criticism within social science. Whereas existing accounts emphasise the differences between the natural and social sciences, the research will argue that the structure of dialogue and criticism is the same in both fields.
Korosteleva-Polglase, Dr E A (University of Glasgow, Department of Politics)
Fallible or Unclassified Democracies: Defining and Explaining Post-Communist Regimes in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova
Dr Elena Korosteleva-Polglase’s research aims to analyse the ‘quality’ of developing democracies in the Newly Independent States (NIS) of Eastern Europe. Political regimes in the NIS seem to operate within an incomplete but paradoxically sustainable environment. They are characterised by various degrees of non-institutionalisation, under-representation and limited political competition. Nevertheless, they enjoy extensive public support, which is often expressed in the form of ‘delegated’ leadership and authoritarian governance. Dr Korosteleva-Polglase’s research will endeavour to determine what makes these new regimes sustainable, and whether indicators to measure the ‘quality’ and sustainability of the Newly Independent States can be determined.
Lauchlan, Dr I G (University of Oxford and Faculty of Modern History)
Security Police (OGPU) and Popular Opinion in the USSR, 1922–1928
Dr Iain Lauchlan’s research will focus on the evolution of the Soviet secret political security police (OGPU) in the 1920s. Dr Lauchlan will investigate the interaction between popular opinion and political despotism in the light of newly declassified materials on OGPU mass surveillance operations. The project will examine the relationship between feuding rival cliques inside the security police and the broader political conflicts in the Soviet Union as a whole. The research will also lead towards a biography of the founder of the Soviet security police, Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Mason, Dr E J (Corpus Christi College, Oxford)
The Educated Heart: Women Writers of the Oxford Movement
Dr Emma Mason’s research aims to focus on women writers associated with the nineteenth-century Oxford Movement of ‘Tractarianism’, specifically Felicia Skene, Charlotte M Yonge, Christina Rossetti and Adelaide Anne Procter. Current criticism tends to address female members of the Oxford Movement as conventual sisters or lay philanthropists, part of a church community but outside of religious debate. Through an examination of the above writer’s devotional poetry and prose, the project suggests that these women were drawn to Tractarianism because it allowed them to engage with theological issues generally confined to the realms of the clergy and university scholars. Through their connections with the Oxford Movement, then, Skene, Yonge, Rossetti and Procter each forged a faithful and yet scholarly identity that positioned an ‘educated heart’ at the centre of Tractarian women’s writing: theological and intellectual rather than merely pious and sentimental.
Metcalfe, Dr A J (University of Leeds, Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies)
The Monreale Registers: Muslims, Christians and the Lands of Western Sicily in the Norman Period
Dr Alex Metcalfe’s research project is to prepare a critical edition with commentaries and translations of the fiscal registers of lands and men, written in Arabic, Greek and Latin, which were conceded by King William II to the church of Monreale in Sicily between 1178 and 1183. Of exceptional historical importance, the registers offer explicit evidence for the ways in which the Normans came to impose a feudal system over a largely Muslim population. This project will contribute significantly to our understanding of the social history, languages and administration of this troubled region on the eve of the Muslim revolt of 1189 that would ultimately lead to their expulsion from the island.
Payne, Dr E (University of Cambridge, Department of Linguistics and Wolfson College)
Phonetic-Prosodic Templates as a Constraint on Phonological Change: A Case Study in Varieties of Italian
Dr Elinor Payne’s research will investigate the hypothesis that hyper- and hypo-articulation are forms of ‘online’ fortition and lenition, both of which, through prosodic lengthening or cluster assimilation, can result in non-structural geminates. It is proposed that the elevation of both of these to phonological status is conditioned not only by physical and sociolinguistic constraints, but also by a dialect's unique phonetic-prosodic template. The phonetic and prosodic conditioning of consonant production in two, contrasting varieties of Italian will be examined, with the aim of showing that secondary consonant gemination evolved only where compatible with the phonetic-prosodic template, thus offering a radical departure from traditional 'explanations' of gemination, particularly word-boundary (raddoppiamento sintattico).
Phoca-Cosmetatou, Dr N (Wolfson College, Oxford)
Human Responses to Environmental Instability: Re-assessing the Nature of Late Glacial Subsistence Changes
The aim of Dr Phoca-Cosmetatou’s research is to re-assess the concept of human diet breadth increase, which is the subsistence strategy human hunter-gatherer communities in Europe are thought to have adopted with the warming climatic conditions following the end of the Last Glacial Maximum 15,000 years ago. The study proposes to assess critically the nature and extent of any subsistence and behavioural changes through a comparative study of settlement and faunal data across Southern Europe during the period 15,000–10,000 years ago, the purpose being to gain a better understanding of the variable ways in which people adapted to their environment in the face of dramatic climatic changes.
Robinson, Dr D (University of Bradford, Department of Archaeological Sciences)
Social Differentiation and Economic Development in Pompeii
The aim of Dr Damian Robinson’s research is to examine the temporal development of the Pompeian urban landscape. His current excavations in Insula VI.i are demonstrating increasing levels of social differentiation and economic activity in this city block. The Fellowship will initially enable him to create a detailed archaeologically derived narrative for the social and economic development of VI.i. The research will also use the interpretations constructed in this small area of the city to investigate the processes of urbanisation across all of Pompeii.
Santos, Dr G (University of Cambridge, Department of Applied Economics)
The Social Costs of Road Transport
Dr Georgina Santos’ research objectives will be to produce improved estimates for the external costs of road transport in the UK, to assess the current road tax system and look for potential improvements, and to simulate different road pricing systems and assess their impact on speeds, traffic reduction and increase in social surplus assessed together with the costs of the different technologies.
Sauer, Dr E (Keble College, Oxford)
Abandonment, Destruction and Re-use: The Fate of Pagan Sanctuaries and Works of Art after the Christianisation of the Roman Empire
The conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity was one of the most decisive turning points of world history. Literary sources are one key to understanding the abandonment and destruction of pagan sanctuaries. Dr Sauer’s study aims to focus on the material evidence which has not been collected previously. It will help to fill the geographical and chronological gaps in the documentary evidence for the Christianisation of the Empire. It will evaluate the extent to which Christians and enemies were responsible for temple and image destruction and to what extent we are dealing with individual acts or waves of systematic destruction. No archaeological synthesis of this subject exists to date.
Simner, Dr J C (University of Edinburgh, Department of Psychology)
The Effect of Anaphor Comprehension on Memory Representations
Dr Julia Simner’s research will use techniques from the field of experimental psychology to investigate how memory representations are constructed during the comprehension of anaphors (eg pronouns). First, she will examine how economically we encode new memories of previously mentioned objects or events (eg are ‘old’ memories duplicated when we hear an anaphor, or do anaphors act merely as ‘mental pointers’ to these earlier memories). Secondly, Dr Simner will examine how much detail about an elaborately described event becomes incorporated into the memory representation of a later anaphor. Finally, she will examine how short and long term memory interact during the comprehension of anaphoric expressions.
The British Academy/Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellowship in the History of Science
Noakes, Dr R J (University of Cambridge, Department of the History and Philosophy of Science and Darwin College)
Mastering Matter and Spirit: A Cultural History of Victorian Physics and the Evanescent
Dr Richard Noakes will use the History of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship to research and write a monograph, Masters of the Evanescent: A Cultural History of Victorian Physics and Psychics, and related scholarly articles. These embody a revisionist history of late Victorian sciences which examines the attempts to make a wide range of unstable phenomena – including cathode rays, electrical discharge, ether resistance, and psychic manifestations - central aspects of the emerging cultures of the physical sciences.
The British Academy Reckitt Travelling Fellowships in Archaeology 2001
Braghin, Dr C (University of Oxford, Institute of Archaeology)
An Archaeological Study of Glass in China
Dr Cecilia Braghin aims to use the Reckitt Fellowship to travel extensively in China and to conduct research on ancient glass artefacts for publication, possibly in the Giorgio Cini Foundation, Venice, series Orientalia Venetiana. The book will be entitled New Insights into the History of Glass in China: Reconstructing the Uses of Glass Artefacts from the Han to the Song. As well as writing an essay on the use of glass as a substitute for jade in the Han period (221BC–207AD), Dr Braghin will also edit essays by two other scholars (Professor An Jiayao from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, and Dr Shen Hsueh-man from the Sackler Museum at Harvard), on the glass vessels and ornaments of the Northern Dynasties (220–558AD), and on the glass Buddhist reliquaries of the Tang and Song Dynasties (618–1279AD) respectively.
Milwright, Dr M (University of Edinburgh and British Institute of Persian Studies)
A Survey of Islamic Architecture in Iran (637–1219)
Dr Marcus Milwright will use the Reckitt Fellowship to undertake two fieldwork trips to western Iran (comprising the regions of Iranian Azerbaijan, Gilan and other areas). The aim of these trips is to visit all the Islamic buildings in this region predating the Mongol conquest of Iran (c.1219). Detailed written and photographic records will be made for each building. The notes taken during these trips will be supplemented by periods of library research in Teheran and Oxford. Participation in two surveys in Khurasan has already given Dr Milwright a familiarity with the early Islamic structures in the east of the country. The Reckitt Fellowship will, first, allow him to broaden the scope of his knowledge of the development of Persian architecture and architectural ornament during this formative period. Secondly, it is designed to fill in vital gaps in the published record of the mentioned monuments. Results of this work will be presented in the form of a regional gazetteer with additional chapters covering themes including structural innovation, the role of inscriptions, and the evolution of architectural ornament.