Phd Tuition Scholarships - Cultural Responses to the Economic Crisis in Spain
The University of Aberdeen is offering Elphinstone Scholarships for new PhD projects focusing on cultural responses to the economic crisis in Spain.
Phd Tuition Scholarships - Cultural Responses to the Economic Crisis in Spain
The University of Aberdeen is offering Elphinstone Scholarships for new PhD projects focusing on cultural responses to the economic crisis in Spain.
Spain was particularly hard hit by the 2008 global financial crisis and it has produced major reverberations throughout Spanish society. In 2011 the Indignados movement formed tent cities in major city squares, spawning a cycle of political and cultural activism that continues to this day, as well as new political coalitions that won the Madrid and Barcelona city governments in the May 2015 municipal elections, among others. The traditionally bipartisan national political structure was also transformed in the December 2015 elections by the appearance of the Podemos and Ciudadanos parties.
Projects will be supervised by staff from both the Sociology and Hispanic Studies departments. In addition to studying the Spanish context, they may also consider links with Latin America’s "New Left" movements and/or similar developments elsewhere in Europe, in countries like Greece, Iceland or Ireland.
First Supervisor: Dr. Jesse Barker, Lecturer, Hispanic Studies
Second Supervisor: Dr. Cristina Flesher Fominaya, Senior Lecturer, Sociology
There are three proposed areas of study, but these are broad categories that can be tailored to the specific interests and proposals of applicants.
The deadline for applying is 29 April, 2016.
The proposed areas of study are:
1. Forging of New Political Figures and Coalitions:
This project would consider the construction of new public figures, parties and platforms that have emerged from the widespread protests and generalized discontent in Spain. Many different questions could be considered: how the new political coalitions differ from the traditional Spanish parties and how they relate to the leaders they present for election; how they utilize art, media and other cultural practices in forging public personalities; tensions between the construction of iconic leaders and claims to horizontal democratic practices; tensions between the new parties and the social movements that produced them. Project might also take into account the role of other intellectual figures that have emerged from the protests, such as Amador Fernández Savater or Guillem Martínez.
2. Cultural Management and/or Artistic Innovation under Austerity:
Since Spain’s transition to democracy in the late 1970s, public funding for cultural activities has been a vital element of the country’s new image as a modern European nation, but this funding has now virtually disappeared through the implementation of austerity measures, a reflection of the generalised divestment in cultural activities and social welfare. This project would investigate how artists and cultural managers respond to the new climate that has transformed both the art world and the broader social context.
3. Film and Literature of the Crisis in Spain:
Proposals may consider films and/or literature that reflect or respond to the crisis in any way. How do they portray the economic downturn and new social-political developments, as well as longstanding issues that have come to the forefront in recent years? Do they offer any new aesthetic configurations that respond to these issues? Do they manifest new social realities or perspectives, signalling the end of the so-called "Culture of the Transition"?
For an overview of the University of Aberdeen Elphinstone Scholarships, see the homepage.
For further information please contact Dr. Jesse Barker: jbarker@abdn.ac.uk