Exploring majority and minority perspectives of heritage and identity through theatre

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Exploring majority and minority perspectives of heritage and identity through theatre.

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

Project brief details

Falmouth University is undertaking a research project until May 2023 on Re-voicing cultural landscapes: narratives, perspectives, and performances of marginalised intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

With European partner universities, the project is looking at Kernewek (Cornish), Livonian (Latvia and Estonia), and Frisian (The Netherlands) to explore the relationships between majority and minority perspectives on ICH, using theatre and festivals as a focus.

One of the outputs will be a theatre performance in Cornwall, built on participatory community workshops exploring majority and minority identities.

We're looking for project proposals that build on and further explore this creative practice-based research strand, and which will work closely with the Director Agnieszka Blonska in undertaking preliminary work and staging the performance in May 2023 (as observer, participating/adding to existing data collection, and/or as performer Assistant Director/Assistant Producer, Community Co-ordinator).

Inquiry might address any of:

Theatre as intangible cultural heritage, asking questions such as: what role can new theatre perfomances play in revitalising ICH? What is their relationship with performances and contexts that are more explicitly thought of as 'heritage'? what is their role within the cultural ecosystem of a rural area?
Theatre as research methodology: What methods can yield robust data, and how can they work in combination with more traditional data collection methods? What is the impact on participants / the community? How might the impact be measured and amplified?
Theatre methodology: How can social research and data collection methodologies can influence theatre making processes and creation of a performance narrative?

Strategic alignment

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the following Research & Innovation programme and department:

Programme	Inequality and Storytelling
Department	TBC

As successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and one or more of our Research & Innovation programmes, we recommend that you review details of the programme aligned to this brief before you complete the application process.

Project brief lead

Laura Hodsdon staff image

Project Brief Supervisor: Dr Laura Hodsdon

Dr Laura Hodsdon is a Research Fellow focusing on issues of social justice. Her research draws on a range of disciplines and contexts, using lenses including socio-spatiality, organisational policy and skills, and literature and narrative to explore (in)equality in organisations, socio-cultural landscapes, and heritage.

Find out more

How to apply

Apply for a Research MPhil or PhD

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with this Doctoral Project brief. To apply in response to this brief or learn about the application process click the button below.

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