Economic History Society Internships at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
The Winton Institute for Monetary History at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Economic History Society are delighted to offer three three-month paid internships for postgraduate students and early-career researchers in economic history, with a special interest in monetary and financial history, broadly defined.
The aim of this internship is to provide applicants with:
- experience of working in a research-orientated museum environment;
- an opportunity to apply their academic expertise to primary sources, including potentially external archives and items from the museum's collections;
- mentoring from staff at the Winton Institute for Monetary History;
- engagement in the activities of the Economic History Society, for example, its annual conference and funded events for postgraduate and early-career researchers;
- networking opportunities within the Ashmolean and the University of Oxford and with members of the Economic History Society.
Successful candidates will work on a specific topic. Examples of areas of current interest within the Winton Institute are given below, although alternative proposals may be submitted:
1. Property Rents and Prices in Urban England: Oxford Medieval sources from c. 1450- c.1550, or Oxford Modern sources from c. 1775- c.1875
This will involve work on archival sources from Oxford college archives, including data collection and then data entry onto a computer database. Some skills in Latin and palaeography would be required for the medieval period, and Latin may also be needed at some level for the later period. It is envisaged that a combination of working on site in archives and working from digital images may be possible.
2. London bullion market and exchanges in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
This will involve collecting data drawn from existing electronic databases and sources in Senate House Library, the British Library and the Bank of England Archive. The work will take place mostly in London but there will be weekly meetings in Oxford to discuss the results.
3. Property Rents and Prices in Urban England: Modern sources from c. 1775- c.1875 Birmingham or Gloucester material
This will involve the consultation of primary sources from archives in Birmingham or Gloucester, and entry of data into data collection sheets and then a computer database. It is envisaged that this could be achieved through a combination of archival visits and work from digital photographs.
The successful applicants will receive £1,000 per month for a full-time internship. Necessary and agreed travel expenses to archives will be provided in addition. Internships will be held for a period of up to three months in the course of 2012, dates to be arranged by agreement.
The deadline for applications is 1 May 2012.
Applications should consist of:
- CV, maximum of two pages, including details of any relevant languages or computer and database skills.
- Letter of reference from someone who knows your academic work well.
- Around 250 words on the reasons for your interest in this internship opportunity, the nature of the work which interests you, and how it will aid your career progression.
- Dates when you would be available to take up the internship.
Completed applications should please be sent by email , on or before 1 May, to: Nick Mayhew
Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Mayhew.
Please note:
- Applicants must have the right to work in the UK, and the successful applicant must provide proof of this to the Ashmolean Museum before starting the internship.
- It is a condition of any offer of an internship that the Ashmolean Museum will undertake security checks and take up references.
- The successful applicant must be a member of the Economic History Society before taking up the internship, but applications from non-members are welcome provided that they join should they be offered the internship.
