PhD Fellowship: DECADOCS network ‘Decadent Travellers and the Reception of Classical Antiquity in the Nineteenth Century’

PhD Fellowship within the DECADOCS network: ‘Decadent Travellers and the Reception of Classical Antiquity in the Nineteenth Century’

University of Galway, Ireland & Goldsmiths, University of London

JOB ADVERTISEMENT

This position is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) Joint Doctorate award funded under Horizon Europe, Pillar 1 and is available from 1^st January 2026 to 31^st December 2029.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a fully-funded project within DECADOCS, a pioneering research and training programme enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, the term will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The programme offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with museums, archives, galleries, and other partners, reinforcing its scientific and social impact.

This project, Decadent Travellers and the Reception of Classical Antiquity, will investigate the development of a decadent version of the Grand Tour in the late-nineteenth century, informed by the reception of classical antiquity in the period. The successful candidate will be jointly supervised throughout their degree by Dr Isobel Hurst (Goldsmiths) and Dr Muireann O’Cinneide (Galway). The project will develop a chronological cultural framework for decadence and the reception of antiquity in nineteenth-century travel writings as well as identifying a wide-ranging and diverse corpus of European and Asian travel writings engaged with antiquity. It will explore the ‘moral cartography’ (c.f. Murray, Landscapes of Decadence (2016)) established by travellers’ textual performances of decadence in locations associated with classical degeneration and excess. As such, the project seeks to establish a distinctive cultural and geographic framework for Southern Italy and in particular the city of Naples as key locations for the articulation of counter-cultural sexualities and for colonial/anti-colonial/nationalist discourses.

The researcher will be enrolled in a double doctoral degree from two institutions: the University of Galway, Ireland and Goldsmiths, University of London. The successful candidate will be required to move to Galway for the first 24 months of the project (January 2026 – December 2027), where they will undergo graduate training under the Structured Ph.D. in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences programme. In this period they will establish the foundations of their doctoral research and complete the first of two training secondments, in which they will gain experience in the region’s cultural industries, including an internship with the Cúirt International Festival of Literature. They will then move to London to complete the next 24 months of the project in Goldsmiths, where they will complete their PhD thesis and other network activities as well as the second of two secondments, obtaining editorial experience with Volupté (an interdisciplinary Open Access scholarly journal of Decadence Studies).

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence. The researcher will be a member of the School of English, Media and Creative Arts; the Discipline of English at Galway is currently ranked in the Top 150 internationally for English in the QS World University Rankings. The successful candidate will have assigned research space in the Hardiman Research Building, where they will be part of a thriving postgraduate community of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, and will also have access to the resources of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science’s Research Management Office and the Institute for Creativity. For information on moving to Ireland please see Euraxess

Goldsmiths is nestled in the lively atmosphere of South East London, where inspiration knows no bounds. As part of the University of London for over 115 years, we have a rich academic heritage, but we’re constantly questioning, challenging and building on what we know. Goldsmiths is recognised as a leading university for research with nearly four-fifths of research by academics considered “world leading” or “internationally excellent”, according to the last Research Excellence Framework (2021). Our mix of students, who come to study with us from around 130 countries, has helped make us the 69th ‘most international’ university in the world (QS World University Rankings 2022).

Goldsmiths has a constellation of colleagues working on ‘the long nineteenth century’ in literary and cultural studies. The Decadence Research Centre (DRC), established and directed by Professor Jane Desmarais, DRC hosts the Open Access journal Volupté and the British Association of Decadence Studies (BADS).  An international research hub, it organises a yearly schedule of conferences and symposia, and participates in international networks and organisations like the Aestheticism and Decadence Network. Research students benefit directly from the intellectual and creative culture of the School of Music, English and Theatre, as well as from proximity to the British Library and the University of London Library, and from other research resources, such as the University of London’s School of Advanced Studies and the specialised seminars and training opportunities provided there: members of the Decadence Research Centre are actively involved in the British Association of Decadence Studies, the London-Paris Romanticism Seminar, the Nineteenth-Century Studies Seminar and the Classical Reception Studies Network.

The EU provides support for each recruited researcher in the form of

• a living allowance
• a mobility allowance
• if applicable, family, long-term leave and special needs allowances

Closing date for receipt of applications is 23.59 (Europe/Paris Time) on 20^th October 2025. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

Interviews are expected to be held online during the week of 17^th to 22^nd November 2025.

Essential Requirements: (i.e criteria for shortlisting, minimum of four)

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, which may include English Literature, Classical Reception, History, or a related Humanities field.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Excellent research and academic writing skills
• Strong digital skills
• Ability to work well both collaboratively and independently
• Highly motivated, with excellent organisational skills

Desirable Requirements: (i.e criteria for shortlisting, minimum of four)

• Demonstrable research interest/experience in at least one of the following: decadence studies, travel literature, classical reception, queer theory, and/or colonial and postcolonial studies.
• Knowledge of one or more of the following languages: Latin, Italian, German, French.
• Experience in archival research and working with scholarly databases
• Demonstrable ability to disseminate research findings in scholarly and/or popular forums

Eligibility criteria

Researchers funded by Doctoral Networks

• must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment
• can be of any nationality
• should be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project
• should comply with the mobility rules: in general, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country where the PhD will begin (Ireland) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.

TO APPLY:

Applications via Euraxess: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/375067#where-to-apply

Application should include:

• a cover letter stating your motivation to apply for the position and your key competencies relevant for this position
• an up-to-date CV, including details of your BA and MA degrees
• copies of your diplomas and transcripts of records (BA and MA)
• contact information for two academic references
• evidence of proficiency in academic English (a sample of academic writing from your MA, max. 5000 words)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Muireann O’Cinneide, University of Galway – muireann.ocinneide@universityofgalway.ie and Dr Isobel Hurst, Goldsmiths, University of London – i.hurst@gold.ac.uk