Research Assistant (0.5FTE) University of London

University of London - School of Advanced Study

The Role The Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) is the only postgraduate academic institution in the UK devoted to the study of the Commonwealth, and is home to the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau (CAB), the only independent think-tank on Commonwealth affairs.The ICwS is home to the Ruth First Archive. Ruth First was an extraordinary scholar and activist writing in the 1960s and 1970s. She was tragically assassinated in Mozambique in 1982. The archive includes Ruth First’s correspondence, unpublished papers and interviews with surviving friends, comrades and scholars, which shed fascinating light on the process of decolonisation and the evolving post-colonial world in Africa.

Requirements In 2012, the ICwS and CAB will be marking the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Ruth First with a project to digitise selected aspects of Ruth First’s work and archive. We are looking for a part-time research assistant for a one-year post beginning in January. The role will entail working alongside the Project Manager, Leo Zeilig, on this digitalisation project. The main responsibilities include the selection of documents from the archive to digitise in the first stage of the project; maintenance of a robust and accurate database of digitised material and the input of metadata. There will also be a major workshop which the Researcher will help organise and some liaising with Southern African universities and academics about the project. The role will suit a person with academic research experience, an ability to work effectively across team boundaries, a genuine interest in the field of research, and good communication and IT skills, especially where the latter include a knowledge or experience of digitisation processes, online resources or working with content management systems.

About The Department The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the only postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriented human rights MA programme in the UK. The Institute is a national and international centre of excellence for policy-relevant research, research facilitation and teaching. As a member of the School of Advanced Study, established in 1994, the Institute works with nine other prestigious postgraduate research institutes to offer academic opportunities across and between a wide range of subject fields in the humanities and social sciences. The Institute’s Library is an international resource holding more than 190,000 volumes, with particularly impressive Caribbean, Southern African and Australian holdings and over 200 archival collections.

Further Information
The closing date for receipt of completed applications is on Tuesday, 17 January 2012. Interviews are scheduled to take place on Thursday, 26 January 2012. The University offers membership of the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL). Pursuing equal opportunities and excellence in education. www.london.ac.uk

Additional Job Board Text The University of London is one of the oldest and largest universities in the UK – and the most diverse. Established by Royal Charter in 1836, the University is recognised globally as a world leader in Higher Education. We are a federal institution consisting of 19 self-governing Colleges of outstanding reputation, and a number of acclaimed central academic bodies, the University of London offer almost every subject covered in any University curriculum, delivering huge flexibility and choice to its students.