PhD Studentship: Unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948

Overview

The Department of Humanities, History, at the University of Strathclyde offers a PhD studentship on unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948. Alternative approaches to health, and the communities and activists who promote them, became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic but have long been part of health in Britain. The project aims to deepen historical understanding of these movements by asking what it was like to belong to them, how people became involved, how membership affected everyday experiences of health, and how public health practitioners, policy makers and health workers responded.

The studentship is affiliated with the Wellcome-funded project A Transnational History of AIDS Denial: Origins, Manifestations and Persistence, 1981 to the present, and projects examining similar unorthodox approaches to health in the 20th or 21st century are encouraged. Candidates may design their own programme. Possible foci include the late 20th century British anti-vaccine movement, cancer denial, the history of complementary and alternative medicine and everyday health, media representations of alternative health movements, regional unorthodox health activism, spiritual and religious health communities, and wellness movements. The project is supervised by Dr Hannah Elizabeth and Professor Matthew Smith.

What you get

The scholarship is funded by the University of Strathclyde. It covers Home fees and a stipend equivalent to the UKRI rate for the duration of study, to be completed within three years. For study starting on 1 January 2027 the stipend is 16,354 pounds, a pro rata share of 21,805 pounds, paid in monthly tax-free instalments of 1,817 pounds and likely to rise each year.

Who can apply

International applications are welcome, but successful international candidates would need to fund the difference between Home and International fees each year of study.

Key dates

The closing date is 30 October 2026, and the studentship begins on 1 January 2027.