125th Anniversary Scholarships for Black British Researchers

PhD Project: Fanfic in the Archive: ephemera, ethics, engagement

This PhD project will be based in the Department of English Literature which is part of the College of Arts and Law.

The deadline for applications is 23:59 (UK time) on Wednesday 30 April 2025.

About the project

This project engages with a paradox: self-published and fanfiction communities and archives have historically been marginalised in academic research and library collection policies, yet also power Internet Search. Under-studied and under-archived in institutional contexts, the productions of fanfic online communities have nevertheless been accessioned into the datasets of Google Bert and other LLMs to optimise commercial Search and Generative AI technologies. This is often experienced as traumatic by communities who prioritise collaborative conceptions of authorship, compensation, attribution, etc. In this context, many fanfiction communities are reluctant to engage with institutional archiving or Legal Deposit, rejecting principles of ownership among mainstream publishers and cultural heritage collections, while remaining subject to voracious tech industry appropriation. Furthermore, fan archives are ephemeral entities, reliant on free labour for maintenance and subject to the notoriously swift obsolescence of technological platforms. This ephemerality is particularly stark for initiatives set apart from well-resourced archives such as AO3. For example, 'Remember Us?', launched in 2002 to tackle the dominant whiteness of much fanfiction, became defunct in 2009, while activist projects such as dark_agenda are fragmented across tags that fall from use as instigators move on. This project addresses under-representation of fanfiction archives within national collections and lack of formal recognition of communities’ expertise, practices and tools. It will explore the ramifications of ephemeral archives and appropriation in a case study of fanfiction by and about Black British people, develop engagement and deposit strategies, and acknowledge fans’ significance in powering commercial knowledge-production while their voices, practices, and legal claims are too often ignored in debates that shape national policy and law:

What are the challenges and rewards of incorporating fanfiction in institutional archives?
How do Black British fanfiction authors and audiences preserve inclusive community spaces and/or navigate white-mainstream archives?
How can the contribution of fanfiction authors and audiences be formally acknowledged while retaining core principles of collaboration, anonymity and provocation?

This project will utilise an interdisciplinary approach, engaging with disciplines such as Literary Studies, Digital Cultures, Black Studies, Media History, Library Science and Cultural Heritage. The project will be supervised by Dr Rebecca Roach and Dr Dorothy Butchard, based in the Department of English Literature, and supported by the Stuart Hall Archive Project and Centre for Digital Cultures at the University of Birmingham. The student will also have access to staff expertise and training at the British Library and undergo a placement there during the course of the PhD.

Entry Requirements

Applicants will be expected to have a good Honours degree (First Class or Upper Second Class Honours degree) awarded by a recognised University in a relevant subject, or an alternative qualification, or experience of equal quality. In certain cases, a Masters degree or equivalent may be expected in a relevant subject.

Who can apply?

These scholarships are designed to create opportunities and address the underrepresentation of talented Black or Black mixed heritage students in academia. Applicants who meet all of the following criteria are eligible to apply:

Students classified as 'Home' for tuition fee payments
Members of one of the following ethnic groups:
- Black African
- Black Caribbean
- Black Other
- Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
- Mixed – White and Black African
- Other mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other)
Not already enrolled on a PhD programme at the University of Birmingham

What does the scholarship provide?

Financial Support: Recipients of these scholarships will receive substantial financial support, including a stipend at UKRI rates, which is set at £20,780 per year for the 2025/26 academic year, and will be paid to you in regular instalments. Successful awardees will also have their tuition fees covered at a minimum of £5,006 per year. This support is designed to alleviate the financial burden often associated with pursuing a doctoral degree, such as covering tuition fees, living expenses, and research-related costs.
Mentorship and Guidance: Scholarship recipients will benefit from mentorship opportunities and guidance from accomplished faculty members who are dedicated to helping them succeed in their academic and research endeavours.
Research Opportunities: We are committed to providing an exceptional research environment. Students will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge resources, and a vibrant scholarly community.
Community Building: A key component of the scholarship programme is the creation of a supportive community of Black British researchers pursuing PhDs. This network will foster collaboration and peer support among scholars.
Research Training Support Grant: In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients will receive a research training support grant at £2,250 across the duration of the PhD. This grant is intended to support conference attendance, fieldwork, and other essential activities that enhance their research and academic growth.
Commitment to Inclusivity: We are dedicated to building an inclusive academic environment that values diversity and ensures equitable access to education.

Contact the supervisory team

Once applicants have familiarised themselves with the above project details, they are encouraged to contact the lead PhD supervisor to discuss the project and the applicant's suitability for the project. This is recommended before you submit an application to the PhD project.

The lead supervisor for the PhD is Dr Rebecca Roach, a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Literature with a research expertise focusing on 20th and 21st century literature and culture across the Anglophone world, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between literature, media and book history. The co-supervisor is Dr Dorothy Butchard, a Lecturer in Contemporary Literature & Digital Cultures whose research expertise is in contemporary and 20th century literature, with a particular interest in digital cultures and creative representations of technological change in the modern age.

Applicants are welcome to contact either supervisor to discuss the PhD project.

Contact the lead supervisor

How to apply

After applicants have made contact with the lead PhD supervisor, you will then need to apply to the PhD project using our online application portal: you should select '125th Anniversary Scholarships (CAL)'. You will need to create an account for the online application portal and you will be prompted to sign-in upon your return to the portal.

You do not need to complete your application in one session; you can save your application at each stage and return to the portal at any stage before submission, particularly if you do not have all of the necessary documents when you begin your application.

As this is an 'advertised PhD', in which you will studying the above project that has already been provided by the academic supervisor(s), you do not need to submit a research proposal. Your personal statement will suffice for determining your suitability for the PhD project as well as your previous academic, professional and personal experiences.

The deadline for applications is 23:59 (UK time) on Wednesday 30 April 2025.

For your application you will need to submit the following documents:

Personal Statement

You will need a personal statement of approximately 5,000 characters, explaining why you are interested in researching the above PhD project. This can be uploaded to the personal statement section in a PDF or Microsoft Word format. Alternatively, you can type this within the application portal.

The personal statement is an opportunity to make yourself stand out from other applicants and demonstrate how you are the most suitable candidate. You should explain your motivations for applying to the PhD project and how the PhD will help you achieve your future goals and aspirations. You may wish to outline and explain how your previous academic experiences have prepared you for PhD study, such as a specific module, research piece or dissertation in your Bachelors or Masters degree. Similarly, you should detail the skills that you have developed in any relevant academic, professional or personal contexts that would make you a suitable PhD student for the above project.

References

On your application, you will have been asked for contact details of one or two references. For some courses, you will need the references before a decision to be made.

Please make sure you tell your references to expect contact from the University of Birmingham via email, requesting their reference. Please note that the contact email address of the referee must be an official email address and not a personal one (for example, gmail). We recommend that the referee sends back the reference in a PDF format as it is preferred if:

The reference is on official headed paper with the organisation or university’s logo and address
It includes the date, your details and the details of the referee
A summary of how they know you and confirm your suitability for studying on the course you have applied for
It should be signed by the referee with their official contact details.

If both your referees send back references which are not on official headed paper, you may be asked to send in additional references.

If you already have a written reference(s) and want to upload it on behalf of your referee(s), make sure the reference is a scanned copy of the original and that it is on official headed paper.

If you input your referee details, your referees will receive a reference request email from us as soon as you submit your application. When a referee provides the reference by clicking on the link in the reference request email, it will be automatically uploaded to your application.

A referee can also provide a reference by emailing it to us directly via pgadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk, it should be sent from their official email address and contain their full name and role. Once the email has been received, it will be sent for processing so that it can be uploaded to your application.

Your online portal will be updated when a reference has been received and processed but please allow at least 15 working days for this. If your portal has not been updated, this does not necessarily mean that the references have not been received as there can be a delay with the processing of references.

Please note that for the vast majority of our programmes, we do not require references in order for a decision to be made and your application will still be processed as usual. If an offer is made and the references are still outstanding, they will form part of the conditions of the offer.

Academic certificate and transcript(s) for all prior degrees

If you have graduated

You will have been asked to upload a scan of your original or certified copies of your degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) on the Postgraduate Application Portal.

If you have not done so already, you can go back into the portal to upload your documents. Otherwise your application cannot be considered.

Please be prepared to send in your original or certified copies of your documents if the Admissions team requests to verify them.

If you don’t have certified copies of your documents and would prefer not to send the original, you can get copies certified by either the institution where you studied or by a notary.

If you are currently a student

You will have been asked to upload an interim transcript from your latest exams.

If you have not done so already, you can go back into the portal to upload your interim transcript. Otherwise your application cannot be considered.

Please be prepared to send in your original or certified copies of your degree certificate and final transcript upon graduation if the Admissions team requests to verify them.

If you don’t have certified copies of your documents and would prefer not to send the original, you can get copies certified by either the institution where you studied or by a notary.

Sample Work

If you are required to submit a piece of example work— usually a short written piece (common for programmes such as Creative Writing or English Literature); music composition or performance for those looking to study music related programmes— you will be notified by the academic tutor before they can access and make a decision on your application.

Please make sure you submit these as soon as possible and in the format requested by the academic tutor.

Apply now

Application portal tips

You don’t need to complete your application in one session. Simply save it and come back to it when you’re ready.
Avoid delays by checking all your information is accurate and complete.
Your application won’t be processed until you’ve completed all the relevant sections and submitted it.
If you have any issues, visit our Admissions FAQ hub where you can find support for a range of queries or you can submit a form response for further help.

What happens next?

Once you’ve submitted your application, we’ll send you details on how to access your applicant portal. You’ll be able to track the progress of your application, update your personal information, view decisions and accept offers.

Your application will be ‘pending’ on your portal while we check your application.

You can add or edit some details or documents within your application after it’s been submitted through your applicant portal.

Find out more

For more information about the scholarship programme, including announcements of available projects and the application process, please register your interest using the form below.

125th Anniversary Scholarship in the Department of English Literature