Call for 12 PhD candidate fellowships – Research Project ForSEAdiscovery
ForSEAdiscovery – Forest Resources for Iberian Empires: Ecology and Globalization in the Age of Discovery
Twelve three year fellowships are available to undertake doctorates in an interdisciplinary, innovative research project in the context of the Early Modern Age (16th-18th centuries). Each will be a participant in ForSEAdiscovery, a project combining academic research on the History of shipbuilding, trade networks, Dendro-Archaeology, Wood biology, Forestry and Wood/Timber provenance, with training in the wider dissemination of research based on a formal network established between universities and private sector companies and funded by the European Union.
Call closes on 4 April 2014.
ForSEAdiscovery is an interdisciplinary, innovative research project in the Humanities and Social & Life Sciences framework. In the Early Modern Age (16th-18th centuries) the construction of ocean-going ships was paramount to the development of cultural encounters in what became the Age of Discovery and European expansion. In the case of the Iberian Empires, the establishment of new trade routes brought up the need for armed merchantmen, galleons and smaller vessels, placing unprecedented demands on Iberian forests for the supply of construction timber. Forestry and sea power became inextricably linked, creating new geopolitical tensions, alliances and forest regulations. Key questions in this context are: could Iberian forest resources sustain the increasing demand of sound timber, or was the wood imported from elsewhere? If so, how were the trade networks organized? And did the lack of raw material force the technological changes that occurred in shipbuilding in the 16th century, or were they a result of exchange between Mediterranean and Atlantic shipbuilding traditions? This project will address these questions through a multidisciplinary and innovative training research program to improve the understanding of our historical past, our cultural heritage, and our knowledge of the use of shipbuilding resources. The prerequisite for such approach is combining knowledge derived from Humanities and Life Sciences.
The objective is to broaden the background and experience of trainees in the different research areas, and to develop their transferable skills for future careers in academia or the private sector, whilst advancing the research fields through the integration of research tools, the development of reference datasets and the exploration of historical structures and development.
The aims of the project are:
- to consolidate a research line combining historical research, underwater archaeology, GIS and wood-provenancing methods (dendrochronology, wood anatomy and geo/dendrochemistry);
- to increase the background and experience of trainees in the different research areas, by engaging the fellows in training courses and workshops aimed at developing their scientific, communication, and management skills; and
- to develop their transferable skills for future careers in academia or the private sector whilst advancing the research fields through the integration of research tools, development of reference datasets and the exploration of historical structures and developments.
More information in the Open Call
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