Re-reading for wellbeing

Dr Chloe Harrison

Dr Natalia Stanulewicz-Buckley

This full-time funded PhD studentship research project will explore the phenomenon of re-reading. Re-reading a text, albeit through second, third or multiple readings, invites varied experiences. The text remains the same, while the attitudinal, social or contextual stance of the reader will have altered. Significantly, readers’ knowledge of the text or story will uncover or modify their perceptions and interpretations. With notable exceptions, re-reading as a reading habit or practice – those occasions where readers choose to return to a book previously read as part of their everyday engagement with texts – has hitherto not been extensively explored in literary, linguistic or stylistic research.

As part of this extended project, the successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Chloe Harrison and Dr Natalia Stanulewicz-Buckley in order to:

• Explore how and why people re-read texts;
• Examine how cognitive stylistic frameworks can explain the distinctive attentional and emotional changes experienced by readers during first and subsequent readings of a text;
• Critically review the existing interdisciplinary work on re-reading and attention, including empirical work in narratology, stylistics, literary studies, psychology and cognitive linguistics;
• Design and implement an empirical reader study to generate data that captures real readers’ responses to re-reading processes and practices;
• Explore the relationship between re-reading and empathetic alignment, emotional responses and/or reader wellbeing.

International applicants are welcome to apply for this position.

This project covers all tuition fees and includes an annual stipend. P

lease note that the successful candidate will be responsible for any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus. International students must meet the financial requirements for the visa, flights, and NHS Surcharge. Applicants should be confident that they can meet these costs before applying.

Further information can be found by viewing our Financial Requirements page.

The successful applicant should hold, or expect to achieve:

A First or Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, and a Masters degree with Merit or Distinction, both in relevant subjects.

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be considered, but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Desirable / Essential Skills or Experience

Required characteristics

The ideal candidate for this post will have a background in applied linguistics and/or cognitive stylistics.

Desirable characteristics

Candidates with experience of empirical literary studies, or reader response analysis in the context of applied literary linguistic research, are particularly welcome.

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.
5. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Please contact Dr Chloe Harrison, for more information or for an informal discussion

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly.

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.

Apply for this position

Alternatively, apply here

If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team.