[Lingtyp] PhD scholarships at the LCRC, James Cook University Australia

[Alexandra Aikhenvald]

 Dear colleagues 
 Please find enclosed an announcement concerning PhD opportunities at the LCRC at JCU.

 


Come and
work in an exotic location, investigating a language which has never previously
been described!


 


PhD scholarships at the language
and culture research centre, JCU, Australia‏


 


Applications are invited,
from suitably qualified students, to enter the PhD program of the Language and
Culture Research Centre at James Cook University Australia. Supervision will be
provided by Professors Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, R. M. W. Dixon, Dr Elena Mihas
and Dr Simon Overall.


              Our PhD candidates generally undertake extensive
fieldwork on a previously undescribed (or scarcely described) language and
write a comprehensive grammar of it for their dissertation. They are expected
to work on a language which is still actively spoken, and to establish a field
situation within a community in which it is the first language. Their first
fieldtrip lasts for six to nine months. After completing a first draft of the
grammar, back in Cairns, they undertake a second fieldtrip of two to three
months. Fieldwork methodology centres on the collection, transcription and
analysis of texts, together with participant observation, and — at a later
stage — judicious grammatical elicitation in the language under description
(not through the lingua franca of the country). Our main priority areas are the
Papuan and Austronesian languages of New Guinea and surrounding areas and the
languages of tropical Amazonia. However, we do not exclude applicants who have
an established interest in languages from other areas (which need not
necessarily lie within the tropics).


              PhDs in Australian universities generally involve no
coursework, just a substantial dissertation. Candidates must thus have had thorough
coursework training before embarking on this PhD program. This should have
included courses on morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonology/phonetics,
taught from a non-formalist perspective. We place emphasis on work that has a
sound empirical basis but also shows a firm theoretical orientation (in terms
of general typological theory, or what has recently come to be called basic
linguistic theory). 


              Distinguished Professor Alexandra (Sasha) Aikhenvald is
Australian Laureate Fellow and Research Leader for People and Societies of the
Tropics. Together with Professor R. M. W. Dixon, she heads the Language and
Culture Research Centre, which includes Research Fellows and a growing number
of doctoral students. In addition, senior scholars from across the world opt to
spend their sabbatical at the Language and Culture Research Centre.


            The LCRC has strong links with
anthropologists, archaeologists and educationalists, with scholars working on
environmental issues, all within James Cook University. Further information is
available at http://www.jcu.edu.au/lcrc/


              The scholarship will be at the standard James Cook
University rate, Australian $26,288 pa. Students coming from overseas are
liable for a tuition fee; but this may be waived in the case of a student of
high merit. A small relocation allowance may be provided on taking up the
scholarship. In addition, an adequate allowance will be made to cover fieldwork
expenses and conference attendance. 


              The scholarship is for three years (with the
possibility of a six month extension). The deadline for application by international
students (starting in 2017) is 31 August 2016; the deadline for students with
Australian and New Zealand passports is 31 October 2016. 


              Successful applicants would take up their PhD
scholarships between January and June 2017. (The academic year in Australia runs
from February to November.)


              Application form and procedures for international
students can be found at: https://www.jcu.edu.au/graduate-research-school/candidates/prospective-students/how-to-apply


              Prospective applicants are invited, in the first place,
to get in touch with Professor Aikhenvald at Alexandra.Aikhenvald at jcu.edu.au,
providing details of their background, qualifications and interests (including
a curriculum vitae). Applicants are advised to send samples of their written
work in linguistics (at least some of this should be in English).


 


Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald,
PhD, DLitt, FAHA, FQAAS


Distinguished Professor
and Australian Laureate Fellow

Director of the Language
and Culture Research Centre

James Cook University

PO Box 6811, Cairns,
Queensland 4870, Australia

http://www.jcu.edu.au/faess/JCUPRD_043649.html

mobile 0400 305315, office
61-7-40421117

fax 61-7-4042 1880 
http://www.aikhenvaldlinguistics.com/

https://research.jcu.edu.au/researchatjcu/research/lcrc


  

 		 	   		  
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