COSMOVIS Studentship 2023-26

Funded PhD at King’s College London in the Social Anthropology of cosmology and ecology in Southwest China 

King’s College London invites applications for one funded, three-year PhD in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, in association with the Cosmological Visionaries: Shamans, Scientists, and Climate Change at the Ethnic Borderlands of China and Russia project. The PhD project associated with this studentship will focus on forestry, cosmology, ecology, and climate change and will involve one year of anthropological fieldworkin a village setting among the Nuosu of Southwest China. It is generously supported by the European Research Council (ERC Synergy Grant – Grant Agreement 856543). 

It is envisaged that this PhD will explore the relationships between forestry, cosmology, ecology, and climate change among the Nuosu, whose Chinese ethnonym is the Liangshan Yi. The project will require fluency in Mandarin Chinese and a willingness to learn Nuosu, a Tibeto-Burman language (if this language is not already known to the candidate). One year of anthropological fieldwork will be undertaken in a Nuosu village with a focus on how bimo priests, sunyi shamans, and ordinary Nuosu people manage climate change, particularly through forestry conservation and the introduction of new animistic rituals for tree preservation. The cash cropping of pine trees for reforestation and afforestation, incidences of forest fires, and regulated approaches to wood cutting and wood harvesting are all themes to be examined on the project. Using the ethnography gathered during fieldwork, the project will examine how Nuosu draw upon their cosmological and ecological knowledge to produce new visions for addressing climate change. 

The PhD will fit with other research on COSMOVIS, which as a Synergy Grant project, involves collaborating with researchers on the ‘China Team’ at King’s College London and researchers on the ‘Russia Team’ at the University of Manchester. Researchers on the King’s China Team focus on how bimo priests, sunyi shamans, ordinary Nuosu people, and a wide range of indigenous scholars and environmental scientists in Southwest China may be brought together to produce shared visions for managing deforestation and other climate change-related concerns. Researchers in the Russia Team at the University of Manchester focus on the related theme of how reindeer herders, indigenous scholars, and environmental scientists in Siberia may be brought together to produce shared visions of how to manage climate change caused especially by deforestation and permafrost thawing. 

King’s College London is committed to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion. We especially encourage, therefore, members of marginalized groups to apply in recognition of their underrepresentation in Theology and Religious Studies, including ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and those from less privileged backgrounds.

The COSMOVIS Project 

The COSMOVIS project explores what global environmental initiatives of the future will look like, by asking: (1) How can scientists, shamans, priests, and other indigenous holders of animistic knowledge collaborate in regions of climatic vulnerability and (2) What are the geopolitics of climate change and the policies that surround it? Starting from the position that cosmology often evokes religious ways of knowing or being, the project brings together anthropologists, ethnologists, historians and philosophers of science and ethics, religious studies experts, space and satellite researchers, indigenous leaders and environmental scientists to examine how climate change is managed at the ethnic borderlands of China and Russia. The widespread deforestation undertaken in Siberia to meet Chinese market demands for wood is melting Russia’s vast permafrost, accelerating the release of ancient greenhouse gases, which carbon capture and storage technologies of the future will not manage. Our project is an academic and a practical intervention driven by two research teams – the China Team and the Russia Team – with a fourfold methodology. Firstly, we will uncover the scientific and indigenous views on climate change in Southwest China and Siberia. Secondly, we will mobilise dialogues between scientists and animistic peoples to mutually inform their approaches to climate change. Thirdly, we will explore how collaboration can benefit both parties. Fourthly, we will map the policies and geopolitics of climate change in China and Russia. Scientists who collaborate with indigenous peoples can get more subtle data than when working alone. Indigenous persons who supply scientists with advice and logistical help can source scientific initiatives for managing local climate change. This feedback loop between scientists and indigenous peoples, advocating for each other, can enable indigenous leaders and scientists to translate shared findings into visions that everyone can commit to.

Visit the project webpage for COSMOVIS at King’s College London.

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London

The PhD student will be registered at King’s College London and supervised by Dr Katherine Swancutt . The PhD student will also have as their second supervisor Dr Tony Milligan .

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s is one of the largest, most prestigious and innovative centres for the study of religion in the world. The department specialises not only in anthropological and other social scientific approaches to religion, but also covers Theology and the study of religion more broadly from multiple perspectives, including those of Asian religions, Philosophy, History, Politics, Islamic Studies, and Jewish Studies. For information on the Department’s other areas of expertise , recent research projects , research centres , and their impact and a list of recent publications by research staff visit the department web pages. 

Furthermore, as King’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies is set in the heart of London, graduate students have access to major international institutions and libraries, such as the British Museum , and the opportunity to attend a wealth of other meetings and research events throughout London.

AWARD DETAILS 

The PhD studentship is tenable for three years. It is envisaged that the student will commence on 1 February 2023. There is an annual stipend set at £24,000. Programme tuition fees will be covered, including at the international student rate, for a PhD conducted between 2023-2026. The award-holder can cover any additional time spent on the PhD beyond this using the stipend.

The student will have access to generous additional funding for fieldwork travel and other research activities. KCL will also provide various forms of career development support throughout the award, including opportunities to further the student’s academic network, advice and support on applications, publishing, funding, and academic employment opportunities.

Eligibility: Home-fee-status candidates as well as international-fee-status candidates are welcome to apply. The award consists of a full PGR fee waiver, including for international students, for a PhD that commences in 2023 and is completed in 2026 only.

Entry requirements: We welcome students with relevant backgrounds in Anthropology, Ethnology, or Ethnography. A Master’s degree with Distinction (or equivalent) is normally expected but strong candidates with a Merit classification are also eligible. Please see KCL’s admissions webpages to view International entry requirements .

How to Apply:

You will be able to apply for the COSMOVIS Studentship in your application in King’s Apply to the Theology and Religious Studies MPhil/PhD at KCL. You will need to have applied for both the studentship and the MPhil/PhD by 11 November 2022 (23:59 GMT).

A. In order to apply for the COSMOVIS Studentship in King’s Apply:

1. In the ‘Funding’ Section of your King’s Apply application, you MUST tick the box at item 5 (Award Scheme Code or Name) and enter the funding code: 022-COSMOVIS (please copy and paste the code exactly). This funding code must be added as soon as possible and no later than the deadline of 23:59 GMT on 11 November 2022.

If you submitted your admissions application before including the funding code, simply log back into King’s Apply to update the ‘Funding’ section of your application. If you experience any problems with this, please contact the admissions office via the messaging section of your application for assistance.

2. The materials required to apply for the COSMOVIS Studentship for the application for the Theology and Religious Studies MPhil/PhD include a personal statement, research proposal, transcripts of your previous qualifications (with official English translations if not originally in English), your CV, two references, and any English language qualifications that you have, such as IELTS test certificates, if your first language is not English. (Please see the prospectus for further details).

Please ensure that you demonstrate how your proposed research fits with the COSMOVIS Project in your Research Proposal (4000 words max.). Applicants are expected to submit a proposal which is closely related to the topic of forestry, cosmology, ecology, and climate change among the Nuosu of Southwest China. 

Please also indicate in your Personal Statement how your previous education, research, experience, and language skills fit with the COSMOVIS project, and how you plan to contribute to the project’s aims and objectives.

Finally, you are required to provide your CV, which should include information about your background, education history, skills, and any other interests.

No application materials in addition to these will be required to apply for the COSMOVIS Studentship. 

Selection Process: Shortlisted applicants may be invited for a virtual interview, provisionally scheduled for the last week of November 2022. Applicants who are not awarded the COSMOVIS Studentship will still be considered for a place on the Theology and Religious Studies MPhil/PhD. We hope to inform the successful applicant towards the middle of December 2022.

For further questions, please contact Dr Katherine Swancutt ([email protected] ).