The Photographic Index: An Investigation of the Contemporary Photographic Language of Empathy.  

Summary

This PhD topic seeks to explore the role of Photography in contemporary life as an activator of empathy. Utilising an overall mixed methods design, including art practice, workshop based case studies and written critical enquiry would provide for analytical and creative depth while allowing for more generalised findings. There is the opportunity to work with University students and to partner with schools, community centres, galleries and festivals in the progression of this research.

The candidate will have an interest in the way in which young people use and understand photography within their everyday lives as mode of expression and connection. Conversely the investigation will seek to explore the ways in which such a medium might alienate and confuse.  Young people now use photography within the context of social media networks as a tool for communication, as essential as the spoken or written word. Certain research suggests, however, that an overload of contact through social networks – especially in the context of COVID-19 – as well as a high level of intolerance for uncertainty, has led to an increase in anxiety within young people. The successful candidate will have a nuanced understanding of the photographic capacity for empathy activation and deactivation. There is a desire to question and subvert traditional notions of sympathy and empathy, darkness and light, surface and depth, as well as more traditional and literal forms of representations. Such an inquiry has historical precedents and a rich tradition of inquiry. Once ‘fixed’, however, the photographic narrative and its technology has set about repeatedly ‘unfixing’ itself by its continual evolution as both a medium, technology and concept. As such, photography acts a way of thinking, a way of responding to society and the demands and peculiarities of its time.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
• Research proposal of 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• For VCRS Awards, Masters at 75%
• Completion of Masters at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster
• Practice-based research experience and/or dissemination
• Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
• Work experience relevant to the proposed project

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Recommended reading

Brennan, M., Brown, G., Dolan, P., Murphy. (2022) IONBHÁ: The Empathy Book for Ireland. Cork: Mercier Press.

Blessing, J. (2012) Empathy, Affect, and the Photographic Image. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Symposium Proceedings.

Demetriou, H. (2018) Empathy, Emotion and Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lanzoni, S. (2018) Empathy – A History. Yale University Press.

Mezzenzana, F., Peluso, D. (2023) Conversations on Empathy – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Imagination and Radical Othering. Routledge.

Silke, C., Brady, B., Boylan, C., Dolan, Pat. (2020). Empathy, Social Responsibility, and Civic Behavior Among Irish Adolescents: A Socio-Contextual Approach. The Journal of Early Adolescence. doi:10.1177/0272431620977658