Full-Time PhD Studentship - Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars 

The Department of History and the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS) at Durham University invite applications for a PhD studentship through the Institute’s new flagship programme of research, Inventing Futures (IFs). This studentship is for full-time study and covers home-level fees and an annual stipend. International candidates are eligible to apply, but must cover the difference between home and international fees by alternative means. Candidates not offered funding may be offered a PhD place at the University. 

We welcome applications from outstanding candidates who can demonstrate academic excellence at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and provide evidence of sufficient research skills to contribute to the project. The successful candidate will be joining an exciting interdisciplinary team at IMEMS involving early modern French and Italian studies alongside History. In addition to their doctoral research, the successful candidate will contribute towards project activities, working with the rest of the project team, and benefitting from appropriate training. 

IFs emphasizes future-oriented consequences of the Institute’s past-oriented study. Its three flagship projects each involve a PhD student and an early-career researcher working with academic staff. The project relevant to this PhD is ‘Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars’ led by Dr Tom Hamilton, IMEMS and History. The other projects are ‘Daphne and her Sisters: Framing Gendered Violence’ and ‘Imagining Alternatives: Utopia in the World’. All have been generously funded by Joanna and Graham Barker. For more on Inventing Futures, please click here.  

‘Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars’ asks how far a society can hold together when civil war breaks out because of religious differences. The Dutch Revolt, French Wars of Religion, and Thirty Years War – for example – are known as some of the most violent conflicts in European history. Confessional division pushed social solidarities to the limit. Yet Europe’s religious wars also prompted unprecedented experiments in peace-making and gave rise to extraordinary works of literature, philosophy, and political theory. How effectively did people respond to the problem of living with religious difference? And how have their responses been understood and reworked all over the world in societies torn apart by religious and civil strife?  

Your lead supervisor will be Dr Hamilton (tom.b.hamilton@durham.ac.uk). A second supervisor will be identified with complementary expertise relating to the candidate’s proposal. We welcome interdisciplinary applications. Applicants are invited to discuss their plans with Dr Hamilton in advance of the deadline. 

How to Apply  

Candidates should apply to the History PhD programme (V1A001) through Durham University's application portal by 31 March 2025 and should select ‘other’ in the Scholarship Details section, entering ‘IFs’ in the text field. 

As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload the following: 

• An academic CV - this should be no longer than 2 A4 pages and should contain information about your academic achievements to date and any related work experience you have
• A sample of written work - this should be up to 5000 words
• A 750-word outline of your intended research - concentrating on the research problem you will address, the research context in which it is located, and the methods, critical approaches, and sources you will use. You can upload this as part of the online application form
• Academic transcripts and certificates - if available, a copy of the transcript and/or certificate from your undergraduate degree and/or postgraduate programmes, if the degree has already been attained. Please note that although we will accept unofficial transcripts for courses still being studied, these transcripts should be on University letter headed paper. If the transcripts and certificates are not in English, we require the original and a certified translation. 

Applicants will be assessed by a panel of experts regarding past academic and/or professional performance and experience; the coherence, importance, and viability of the proposed research; and its relevance to the project; and fit with supervisorial strengths at Durham.