Doctoral Studentship on European Research Council Project ‘Promiscuous Print: Legal Deposit Lib[...]

University of Sussex; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 22,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent UK university is offering a PhD studentship focusing on the relationship between obscenity and deposit in literature. Candidates are required to have an outstanding academic record along with relevant experience. The position is fully funded with a stipend of £21,383 per year starting from October 2026. Interested candidates should apply before the 27th of February 2026.

Benefits

PhD fees covered

Research costs covered

Tax-free stipend

Qualifications

• Be able to begin postgraduate research on a PhD programme starting in October 2026.
• Resident within the UK for the duration of studies.
• Candidates who have commenced their doctoral study are not eligible.

Responsibilities

• Partake in research focusing on the relationship between obscenity and deposit.
• Work with the PromPrint research team.
• Engage with data on rejected books and historical contexts.

Skills

Outstanding academic record

Knowledge of the relevant project period

Experience with quantitative and textual data

Proficiency in Digital Humanities tools

Education

Master’s degree in a relevant humanities discipline

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Sussex Department Faculty of Media, Arts, and Humanities Research Field Literature » European literature Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 26 Feb 2026 - 16:00 (Europe/London) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37.5 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Hosted by the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab (SHL Digital) and led by Principal Investigator Dr Hannah Field, PromPrint uses digital tools and quantitative analyses to uncover the rejects of legal deposit: the printed texts excluded from the ostensibly universal archive promised by copyright libraries. Taking a case study approach oriented around UK copyright libraries between 1836 and 1914, the project asks questions including: which textual forms and genres do deposit libraries reject? How and why does this change over time? More broadly, the research seeks to drive forward our understanding of how literature is canonized and forgotten, collected and destroyed.

The postgraduate researcher will be part of the PromPrint research team, which also includes PI Dr Field, postdoctoral researcher Dr Milan Terlunen, and Research Software Engineer Dr Nicolas Seymour-Smith. The PhD project will focus on the relationship between obscenity and deposit. While the project is hosted by the English Literature programme at the University of Sussex along with SHL Digital, we are open to applications from researchers in all humanities disciplines.

PhD Project

The PhD project will focus on the relationship between obscenity and deposit.Pornography was a publishing phenomenon in nineteenth-century Britain. Moreover, as Sarah Bull notes, there were frequent attempts to define obscenity ‘as a single category of print’ covering not just porn but also sexological treatises and other medical materials. Against this backdrop, key questions for the postgraduate researcher will include:

• How did deposit libraries preserve or suppress obscene texts in this period?
• What is the relationship between deposit and individual library protocols for managing a broader range of controversial books (e.g., ‘Private Case’ at the British Museum Library, ‘Arc’ at Cambridge, ‘Phi’ at Oxford)?
• In what ways did deposit and copyright contribute to the definition of obscenity itself?
• What is gained by understanding which obscene materials are missing from copyright library holdings?
• How can data on rejected books contest or revise existing histories of gender, sexuality, medicine, and publishing?

Studentship Offer

The studentship covers PhD fees (Home or International), research costs, and a tax-free stipend in line with the UKRI level (£21,383 for 2026/27) for a period of three years’ full-time study beginning in October 2026.

To be eligible, a candidate must:

• Be able to begin postgraduate research on a PhD programme starting in October 2026 (successful candidates may only undertake their study full-time, and deferrals are not permitted); and
• Be resident within the UK for the duration of their studies and live within a reasonable distance of the host university (except for periods of fieldwork or when attending conferences).

Candidates who have already commenced their doctoral study (i.e., current postgraduate researchers) are not eligible to apply.

Candidates’ statements of interest should make reference to the following essential attributes and, as relevant, desirable attributes.

• An outstanding academic record evidenced by Master’s degree (completed or close to completion) and undergraduate degree in a relevant humanities discipline, ideally at Distinction/First level, or equivalent experience of working at an outstanding level in a relevant domain in an HEI or non-HEI, or relevant experience in the creative and heritage sectors; and
• Knowledge of the period covered by the project through previous study or relevant experience.
• Experience working with quantitative and textual data, writing computer code, and/or using existing Digital Humanities tools.

The successful candidate will be supported to fill gaps in their Digital Humanities skills and knowledge during the project.

On the application system, select the degree ‘PhD in English’. Ensure you state the project acronym PromPrint under funding and include the primary supervisor’s name (Dr Hannah Field) where required.

Your formal application should include a CV, degree transcripts and certificates, two academic references, and a 1,000-word statement of interest which (a) responds to the essential and desirable criteria for the role, outlining in particular previous experience in fields relevant to the project, such as bibliography, book history, Digital Humanities, and Victorian studies, and (b) gives a brief outline of particular angles on the research topic that you would like to pursue.

Timetable Outline

Deadline for submitting application: 27 February 2026

Notification of shortlisted candidates: March 2026

Interviews with shortlisted candidates: early to mid-April 2026

Date successful candidate will be notified: end of April 2026.

Contact

Informal, research-related enquiries about the studentship can be addressed to Dr Field at [e-mail] .