I am delighted to share with you all a funded social sciences PhD studentship (home fees and stipend), available for a February start at Birmingham City University. Interdisciplinary in nature, encouraged to apply from; human geography, sociology, media & communications, humanities, music and youth studies.
Below is an outline of the project and application details can be found in the link below, (please click on the link ‘School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships’ to see full advert). Any questions do not hesitate to get in touch.
Link to apply – https://www.bcu.ac.uk/social-sciences/research/phd_opportunities
Project Overview
Despite being overlooked as sites of social engagement and ignored as being merely spaces of leisure, DIY (Do-it Yourself) youth music scenes are an important aspect of how young people express selfhood and identity (both individually and collectively), build networks, relationships, and communities, and are crucial in providing a platform for young people to resist and rebel against dominant (mainstream) culture. There is a rich history of scholarship (see, for instance, the work of the Birmingham Centre of Contemporary Cultural Studies) that has studied the musical subcultures of young people. However, this work has tended to limit focus on the importance of space and spatiality in the role of DIY music youth culture.
This study aims to unpack the social significance of these spaces for young people, denoting that whilst they are trivialised in the public imagination, they hold significance for young people themselves as they demonstrate modes of being together in which young people can express identity and community-making social practices. Using filmmaking, the study will document a contemporary UK music scene(s) by creating a ‘live archive’ of young people’s DIY social and cultural practices while participating in the scene(s). The project will produce a 70–90-minute documentary which tells the story of the contemporary youth-based music scene(s) and its participants, providing informationally rich audio-visual documents of the lived moment and experiences of young people within specific music space(s) and scene(s) by capturing the production, performance and consumption of the DIY music scene(s); its events, rituals, and ceremonies.
Contact information:
Dr Eveleigh Buck-Matthews Email: eveleigh.buck-matthews@bcu.ac.uk