Anthropology, Media and Performance PhD

08459 full-time PhD 08460 part-time PhD

The programme will be jointly managed by Drama in the School of Arts Histories and Cultures, and the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology/Social Anthropology in the School of Social Sciences. It is a practice-based programme, governed by the principles laid down for the presentation of practice-based theses in the guidelines approved by the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures.

After a year of academic formation and preliminary training in research methods and relevant craft techniques, students will be expected to carry out their projects on the basis of field research of a up to a year's duration. In the third year, students will be expected to return to Manchester and prepare the presentation of their results in textual or other media as appropriate.

To introduce students to potential interdisciplinary combinations of Anthropology, Applied Theatre/Performance Studies and Media Production so that they can produce original knowledge in one or more of these academic fields.

To introduce students to cutting-edge theories and self-reflexive, critical research practice in all these fields

To train students in a range of practical field research methods and media production skills sufficient to enable them to carry out the year-long fieldwork that is an integral and necessary aspect of the second year of the programme and to produce a combination of written dissertation and media and/or performance practice thereafter.

To make students aware of the legal and ethical implications of their work and of the appropriate procedures for ensuring ethical clearance of their research.

To encourage students in the development of a range of transferable skills in areas such as IT and AV media, as well as presentational, writing, team-working and foreign language skills

Although there are a number of existing performance or film-making genres that draw on various mixes of anthropological and/or applied theatre expertise, there is no doctoral programme, nationally or internationally, that offers an effective combination of academic and technical training necessary to bring them together. The University of Manchester is uniquely equipped to offer this training, having both the professional academic expertise and the provision of AV facilities by the University's Media Centre and the technicians in Drama. Our intention with this programme is to provide students with a more systematic, one-stop opportunity to acquire this range of skills.

The programme will employ a pedagogical approach featuring a high degree of peer-group formative assessment and enquiry-based learning. This approach fits particularly well with the reflective, action- and practice-based research typically carried out by film-makers and performers in professional contexts. Face-to-face training and supervision will be supported by a dedicated Blackboard presence.

Both applied theatre practitioners and anthropologists typically engage with deprived and marginalised populations across a diverse range of social contexts, thereby contributing to the development of social and cultural capital in those contexts, and thus to the remit of the university's 2015 agenda to support the development of a secure, humane, prosperous and sustainable future for human society.

In this first, pre-fieldwork coursework year, the precise modules that students will be recommended to take will vary, in accordance with the results of the skills audit that will be carried out immediately following enrolment. In order to carry out the fieldwork and media production of the second year, students will require intellectual and theoretical preparation, both in anthropology and in applied theatre and/or screen and performance studies, in combination with training in particular field research skills and technical competences in applied theatre and/or media production. Some of these skills they will already have prior to enrolment, as one of the conditions of acceptance onto the programme is that students have an MA level qualification in one or more of the following fields: Applied Theatre, Social Anthropology and Media Production. On the basis of the skills audit, students will be directed towards modules providing the intellectual formation or skills training that they will require in order to carry out their field projects.

During the first year of the doctoral programme, students will be typically engaged in coursework on a week-by-week basis, supplemented by supervisorial meetings on a fortnightly basis during teaching weeks and attendance at the programme-specific Master Classes by professional practitioners in film-making and applied theatre. These sessions will be `anchored' by the programme director or one of the other principal teachers on the programme, to provide continuity over the series. Master Class givers will be invited by the programme director, taking into account the particular interests of the students enrolled on the programme in any given year. The aim of these sessions will be to give students exposure to professional standards of performance and media production outside academic life and they will not be formally assessed.

During the second year of the programme, students will be carrying out their field research and media production.

In the third year, students will be writing up and preparing their media outputs.  Personal supervision will become the principal medium of teaching, though this may be supplemented in the third year by attendance at Master Classes and pertinent postgraduate research seminars in either the Drama or Social Anthropology subject areas.

For subject areas that hold awards in particular years, UK and EU applicants may enter the AHRC Block Grant Partnership competition (deadline 1st March). The complete list of subject areas covered and the number of awards available in each year is listed here . This is highly competitive, and applicants should discuss applying with the Programme Director as soon as possible. Some awards are usually offered by the School or department: see the school website  for current information, or contact the Admissions Administrator. Some awards are reserved for international applicants.

None available - new course

Academic entry qualification overview: A First or Upper Second Class Honours degree and a taught Masters degree, or their overseas equivalents. For the practice-based PhD, you must demonstrate in your application how your proposed practice will be part of your research process.

English language: If your first language is not English, you need a minimum score of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 600 paper based or 250 computer based.

Other international entry requirements: We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

If you have applied to us before, any subsequent application should provide updated information on your suitability for the course. We reserve the right to draw on any information from previous applications.

One of the central aims of this programme is to combine visual, aural and textual media in an imaginative, self-reflexive and critically aware manner to generate original knowledge in one or more of the academic fields from which it draws, namely Anthropology, Applied Theatre, Screen Studies and Performance/Media Practice. The methods of assessment have therefore been devised to test both the development of skills and competences in the use of performance and media practice for the purposes of ethnographic research, and development of text-based writing and intellectual abilities.

In the training phase, students will be able to draw on a broad range of modules. These involve an equally broad range of assessment methods, ranging from conventional 4000-word assessment essays to portfolios of practical work. Each student will have be assigned at least two supervisors, normally with one in Drama, the other in Anthropology. One of these supervisors will be considered the `principal supervisor' and will be primarily responsible for monitoring the student's progression.

The thesis, produced in the third year, will provide evidence of the creation and interpretation of knowledge that extends the frontiers of the disciplines of Drama (incorporating Applied Theatre, Screen and Performance Studies) and/or Social Anthropology through original research. It will consist of the following: 1) a practical outcome, typically a media production (in the form of film, photography and/or audio recordings) and/or a theatrical performance; 2) a 20-50,000 word dissertation containing a presentation of the research as a contribution to the academic discipline of Drama (including Applied Theatre, Screen and Performance Studies) and/or social anthropology; an exploration of ethical issues of research and practice; a statement of methodology. The thesis will be examined by means of a viva, as provided for in University regulations.

Postgraduate study is supported in the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama through an exclusive postgraduate computer cluster and postgraduate common room.  Postgraduates are also able to borrow DVDs and videos from the Lenagan Library in the basement of the Martin Harris building.

As well as seminars and public lectures in the larger School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, postgraduates in Screen Studies are encouraged to participate in our regular Research Encounters seminar series, which brings together staff and postgraduate students to discuss their recent and current research.

For Screen Practice at Drama, postgraduates are able to book professional digital video cameras, equipment for sound recording, an AVID suite for non-linear editing and a digital recording studio available for audio projects.

The Centre for Screen Studies also collaborates with the Media Centre at the University of Manchester, providing advanced audio-visual facilities and extensive technical support.

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk

The PHD programme will teach theory and method in Anthropology, Applied Theatre/Performance Studies and Media Practice, to prepare the students for an academic career. The programme is also designed to encourage students in the development of a range of transferable skills in areas such as IT and AV media, as well as presentational, writing, team-working and foreign language skills to enable the students to apply for jobs in the cultural sector.