call for applications for a PhD project related to French Studies on the history of women in Pacific

Opportunities for a PhD project related to French Studies as part of new DECRA project starting 2020 on the history of women in Pacific archaeology; with financial support available, including scholarship (on academic merit), conference attendance and carer support when needed:

‘Pacific Matildas: finding the women in the history of Pacific archaeology’ is a new ARC-funded research project that will start in 2020 at the University of Western Australia under the lead of Emilie Dotte-Sarout.

The aims are to produce a history of the women who pioneered archaeology in the Pacific from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, for their stories and legacy to become part of broader narratives in the history of science; to identify the mechanisms that led to the relative historical invisibility of women’s role and contributions, while developing an innovative interdisciplinary approach to overcome this bias; and identify the barriers historically faced by these women in practicing archaeology and the successful strategies they developed in response.

I am advertising one PhD project to work with me on this research with interdisciplinary interests in history, French Studies, archaeology and material culture studies, and Pacific and gender studies, and with potential for developing a joint program with the Sorbonne University:

Documenting the work of (women) assistants and students in the making of an ‘archéologie océaniste’: Manouka Laroche’s army of volunteers at the Musée de l’Homme 1939-1970. This project requires serious competencies in French and involves stays/exchange program in France to work especially in the archives of the Musée de l’Homme and Société des Océanistes. The candidate will conduct an innovative PhD research project that will focus especially on the hidden contributions of the many volunteers who worked in the Musée de l’Homme during the formative years of the French school of Pacific archaeology (from the end of the 1930s to the 1970s).