Wendy Asquith
Three PhD students at the University of Liverpool have been granted fellowships at overseas research institutions in the latest round of the AHRC International Placement Scheme (IPS).
Wendy Asquith, a PhD student in History, was awarded a fellowship at the Huntington Library in California alongside English PhD student Kerry Astbury. Maria Shmygol, who is also an English PhD student, was awarded a fellowship at the John W.Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.
The AHRC IPS supports the placement of postgraduate students and early career researchers on short-term fellowships at overseas research institutions. The placements allow students to access world-class research facilities, expertise and networking opportunities.
The placements
Maria Shmygol has spent three months in Washington DC, where she has been using the resources in the John W.Kluge Center Rare Books Division to study the articulation of marine objects and bodies in early modern English drama and literature.
Wendy Asquith has spent two months at the Huntington Library which houses extensive collections of early American and European Art. Her research focused on the display of visual arts at late 19th Century World’s Fairs, and this trip gave her access to various established collections as well as some new acquisitions to explore the presence and representation of Haitians and U.S. African-Americans at the World’s Columbian Fair in Chicago in 1893.
Kerry Astbury is currently spending two months at the same institution in California to support her thesis. She has been granted access to some of the six million manuscripts housed in the archives there to explore how ideas and ideals of music manifested themselves in 19th Century aesthetic and literary texts, assessing the significance of sound within the Victorian aesthetic imagination.
Commenting on her trip before leaving, Kerry Astbury said: “These awards are extremely prestigious and I’m particularly fortunate to be able to join these ranks as this opportunity is rarely afforded to doctoral candidates. The Huntington Library has particularly strong holdings in 19th Century British literature and these rare materials are integral to my research.”
The 2014/15 IPS competition will open in the Autumn 2013.
