North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
I’ve discovered exciting connections between my research and environmental history
Joel Mead, Economic & Social History, University of Liverpool (2022 Cohort)
I am a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Liverpool, nearing the end of my second year. My research focuses on the history of egg production and consumption in post-war Britain, examining broader societal changes in consumption and public attitudes. Over the past year, I’ve discovered exciting connections between my research and environmental history, particularly in how food consumption and agricultural practices have impacted the environment.
Read MoreEverything ranging from tiny rooms in basements of local museums to the grand corrals in the National Archives.
Beck Heslop, Social Studies of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester (2022 Cohort)
Since the main archive I had planned to use has admitted to me that they probably won’t be re-opening any time soon after all, I have had to be creative to find materials relevant to my topic. That is why, over the first one hundred weeks of my PhD, I have visited ten different archives across England. That’s translated to somewhere around four weeks sitting in reading rooms going through tape recordings, papers, microfiche, and one television documentary. Everything ranging from tiny rooms in basements of local museums to the grand corrals in the National Archives.
Read MoreNWSSDTP: Communication Skills Training
Luke Parkinson, CSPSW, Lancaster University (2021 Cohort)
Public speaking has always been a bit of a challenge for me. Prior to starting my PhD, I spent a long time becoming an expert in avoiding ways of having to confront my difficulties with public speaking, which have followed me since my early school days when I would struggle with stuttering and speaking very quietly. Although I’ve become confident enough in speaking in small groups, such as seminars, there is something very unsettling about a large audience that takes me back to the same difficulties I’d had in primary school with confidence and clear speech, and when giving a conference presentation or a lecture, I often found myself very anxious and unsure of how I was coming across to my audience.
Read MoreAttending the RGS-IBG Annual Conference
Chloe Fox-Robertson, Geography & Environment, University of Manchester (2022 Cohort)
Last week, I was fortunate to attend the RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London, supported by the NWSSDTP Research Training Support Grant. Over 2,000 geographers and others from beyond the discipline came together to share and discuss new research ideas and directions. Although united under the Chair’s theme ‘mapping’, sessions were numerous and varied, from decolonising urban futures to mapping the geographies of AI to more-than-human cartographies. Not only was this my first time attending an academic conference, but it was also my first time presenting and convening a session. During this piece, I reflect on these first-time experiences and share some advice and tips for navigating a conference.
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North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 