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Department of English

Variable Hours, Fixed-Term (4 months)

(0.4 FTE)

Applications are invited for the post of Research Assistant in the English Department, on a project funded by the British Academy on ‘Bringing together literary and demographic datasets’, led by the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr Helen Kingstone.

This project asks: How can big datasets of language – particularly literary language – and those of population and demography be made to speak to one another in meaningful ways, to better understand the human past? In order to map cultural change over time, we need to combine the insights and methods of social and economic history and demography, with those of Digital Humanities. This project will test out methods and approaches by undertaking analyses of some trial datasets, such as Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM), the Curran Index of Nineteenth-Century Periodicals, and/or HathiTrust Digital Library, but specific datasets for analysis will be decided in discussion with the postholder.

The successful candidate will work closely with the PI, Dr Helen Kingstone (English), as well as with the Co-Investigators Professor Martin Hewitt (History, Anglia Ruskin), Dr Pieter Francois (Anthropology, Oxford) and Ryah Thomas (Social and Economic History, Oxford). Towards the end of the post, you will be reporting back on the research and its findings, and gaining input and support, from an international research meeting of project advisors including Professor Ted Underwood (English and Information Studies, Illinois) and Professor Alice Reid (Director of the Cambridge Population Group).

As postholder, you will have an undergraduate and ideally a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline, including training in research methods, and ideally have knowledge of nineteenth-century social history and/or literary culture. You will be skilled at analysing and writing up information, including ideally quantitative data; will be able to present complex information effectively to a range of audiences; to write up findings accurately and clearly, with excellent communication skills; and might ideally have some experience working with datasets of nineteenth-century records.

In return we offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Training and Development opportunities
• Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
• Various schemes including Cycle to Work, Season Ticket Loans and help with the cost of Eyesight testing.
• Free parking

The post is based in Egham, Surrey where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Helen Kingstone on [email protected].

For queries on the application process the Human Resources Department can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

Royal Holloway recognises the importance of helping its employees balance their work and home life by offering flexible working arrangements. We are happy to consider a request for flexible working for this post including part time, job share or compressed working hours.

Please quote the reference: 0723-354

Closing Date: 23:59, 23 August 2023

Interview Date: W/C 4 September 2023

Please note that it will not be possible for the College to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for successful candidates as the pro-rata salary will not meet the minimum threshold set by UK Visas and Immigration. Successful candidates will therefore need to be eligible to work in the UK or have limited leave to remain in the UK and associated right to work for the duration of their employment with the College, in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.