We invite applications for two Leverhulme Trust-funded PhD studentships that will be jointly managed by the Departments of Politics and International Relations, History, and Computer Science.

Royal Holloway, University of London has been awarded over £1 million from the Trust to support a total of 15 PhD research projects on the theme of Freedom and the Rights of the Individual in the Digital Age. In 2015, Royal Holloway will also launch a Magna Carta Doctoral Centre for Individual Freedom.

Studentship 1: Surveilling the Surveillants: Organizational Practices, Democratic Debate, and the Ethical Challenges of the Political Monitoring of Citizens
Lead Supervisors: Dr Cristian Vaccari and Professor Andrew Chadwick, New Political Communication Unit, Department of Politics and International Relations

This project will provide an in-depth account of how and why different types of political and policy organizations in contemporary Britain acquire large quantities of digital data to monitor and analyse citizens' behaviour. It will explore how these organizations feed the results of data analyses back into their everyday operational goals, such as influencing citizens' political information, attitudes, and behaviours. The student will engage in extensive and immersive ethnographic field research in a minimum of two and a maximum of four different organizations. Suitable organizations include political parties, interest groups, activist movements, media organizations, political consulting companies, polling organizations, global digital companies, and government departments. The project will explore organizational leaders' sense-making about "big data," and the ethical, political, and legal challenges involved in the deployment of computational techniques. The project will be able to draw conclusions about how these new practices may limit or promote individual freedom, democratic debate, and the public interest.

Studentship 2: Magna Carta for the Digital Generation: The Intersection of Youth Protest and Technology
Lead Supervisors: Dr Akil Awan (Department of History, and New Political Political Communication Unit, Department of Politics and International Relations) and Dr James Sloam (Youth Politics Unit and New Political Communication Unit, Department of Politics and International Relations)

Many young people today feel alienated from formal politics, disadvantaged by public policy, and even victimized by the state. The political disillusionment and disenfranchisement of young people should be of serious concern to us all. The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta offers a useful and timely opportunity to explore and address some of these concerns. This project will seek to answer three related questions: How might young people reclaim the legacy of Magna Carta today, particularly the right to protest? How can we understand the relationship between youth, protest, and technology in historical context, for example by comparing today's youth protest movements with those of the 1960s? And can digital media technologies play useful roles in mobilising publics and engendering change?

The studentships will begin in September 2015 and cover Royal Holloway Home/EU level fees and include a living allowance grant at Research Councils UK rates of £15,726 per year. Additional funding will be made available to support each student's research training and conference participation.

To apply for Studentship 1, please send the following by email to Dr Cristian Vaccari (cristian.vaccari@rhul.ac.uk) no later than April 10, 2015: a 1,000-word research statement outlining the qualities and ideas you would bring to this project, a writing sample such as a Masters essay or dissertation, and your CV.

To apply for Studentship 2, please send the following by email to Dr Akil Awan (akil.awan@rhul.ac.uk) no later than April 10, 2015: a 1,000-word research statement outlining the qualities and ideas you would bring to this project, a writing sample such as a Masters essay or dissertation, and your CV.

Interviews are expected to take place via Skype or in person in late-April 2015.

The College is committed to equality and diversity, and encourages applications from all sections of the community.