Drs Alex Wylie and Adam James Smith are delighted to announce that they have secured funding to employ a Student-as-Researcher on their project “Getting Smart: Mapping the Life and Legacy of Christopher Smart (1722-1771).”
This is a paid position (£11.35 per hour) for approx. 45 hours between January and July (£510.75 + Holiday pay). It is open to all undergraduate students, but would be especially well suited to English Literature students with an interest in eighteenth-century literature.
About Christopher Smart
The career of Christopher Smart (1722-1771) was a diverse as it was prolific. He was a poet, pedagogue, religious writer, children’s writer, essayist and magazine editor, who also cultivated a second persona—as the woman “Mary Midnight”—and for a time was committed to a eighteenth-century mental asylum. As a result, although his life and work have attracted critical attention, he tends to be treated with reference to one of the above elements, but has yet to be the subject of a sustained exploration which considers all of these elements together.
This project is intended to provide a launchpad for a wide-range of research and engagement activities exploring the life, legacies and striking contemporary significance of Christopher Smart.
About the role
Our student researcher will be required to:
-
Use the British Library ESTC (English Short Title Catalogue) to write a comprehensive list of Smart’s extant works
-
Identify where these works are held
-
Produced a detailed literature review of existing scholarship on Smart
-
Where possible, visit, catalogue and transcribe locally held works of Smart (for example, York Minster Archive, Brotherton Library)
-
Identify scholars and organizations who may be interested in attending a
-
Christopher Smart symposium and who could contribute to future essay collections
How to Apply
The full role description is available here:
If you would like to apply, please complete the application form and send it to ResearchOffice@yorksj.ac.uk by midday on Monday 28 October 2024.
If you have any questions or would like further information about the Student-as-Researcher scheme, please contact Emma Sunley, Research Officer, at e.sunley@yorksj.ac.uk.