WK Hancock Fellowship

WK Hancock Fellowship

The WK Hancock Fellowship is open to Higher Degree Research (HDR) students in History and associated disciplines within the College of Arts and Social Sciences and to recent graduates up to one year after completion.

The aim of this Fellowship is to encourage greater understanding of the history of the Australian National University (ANU) and particularly to foster an appreciation of the achievements of history and historians within the institution. It is designed to stimulate innovative public-facing historical practice, and to provide an opportunity for professional development of a Higher Degree Research (HDR) student at the ANU. The Fellowship has been inaugurated by the WK Hancock Chair of History, Distinguished Professor Ann McGrath AM FASSA FAHA.

The Fellowship includes an Award of $5000, together with a mentoring, professional development and leadership opportunity.

The successful applicant will be mentored for up to three months to create a small interpretative showcase and/or a digital exhibition/webpage that features the stories of at least one of the ANU’s former ground-breaking historians.

Experts from the School of History and the University Archives will offer support. An Archives officer will arrange a research interview at commencement to assist in identifying sources in the University Archives and beyond, will provide research advice during the Fellowship, and offer a reasonable amount of digitisation.

The developed displays would be used in the new RSSS building, Kambri, and on relevant College of Arts and Social Sciences, Research School of Social Sciences and School of History websites. The Fellow may also wish to conduct additional activities leading to a podcast, associated workshop, or masterclass. Wherever possible, ANU infrastructure will support these activities. No additional funding beyond the Award amount of $5000 will be supplied.

It is expected that for the 2021 award, the applicant will include, as part of their project, some content on the contribution of WK Hancock himself to historical studies at the ANU.

The Fellowship will be offered annually 2022-2025, building up a set of historical resources on the history of history at the ANU.

Apply

Applications for 2021 will open 24 May and will close at midnight on 1 July. The Application may be no more than 2 pages. The CV is additional to that word limit.

Eligibility

You must be a currently enrolled ANU postgraduate student or have completed your postgraduate degree at ANU in the past twelve months.

Criteria for Selection

The Committee, made up of three experienced scholars, will take into account:

  • the merit of the proposed project, including its alignment with the history of historical studies at ANU;
  • the proposed use of archival material to support research, including capacity for an innovative approach in presentation of research;
  • the degree to which work will contribute to knowledge and engage public
  • the degree to which work will contribute to knowledge and engage public or members of ANU community;
  • the applicant's ability to contribute to a set of historical resources on the history of history at the ANU; and
  • the applicant's more general scholarly potential.

 

How to Apply

The following documentation is required.

  • A letter addressing the criteria for selection that includes in the proposed program - topic, likely sources, planned output (maximum 2 pages); and
  • A current curriculum vitae.

 

Further Information

Applications and enquiries should be sent to julie.rickwood@anu.edu.au

 

About W K Hancock

Like the Chair, the WK Hancock Fellowship is named after Sir William Keith Hancock (1898-1988), Director of the Research School of Social Sciences (1957-61) and Professor of History (1957-65) at the Australian National University. Professor Hancock, a Rhodes Scholar, also held chairs at Adelaide, Birmingham, London and Oxford. He was one of four academic advisers who contributed to the foundation of the ANU, and was a leading figure in the establishment of the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Professor Hancock, widely regarded as the leading historian of the British Empire and Commonwealth of his time, made distinguished contributions to Italian, British, South African and Australian History. He was a pioneering environmental historian and one of the first Australian historians to be self-reflective about his vocation, publishing Country and Calling (1954) and Professing History (1976).

Updated:  27 May 2021/Responsible Officer:  Head of School/Page Contact:  CASS Marketing & Communications