Undergraduate Research & Leadership Scholarship Projects 2015 All first year undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts are eligible to apply to any of these projects. You can apply to more than one project.

Project Title: Representing Postcolonial Disaster: Mental Health and Creative Practice Project Lead: Anthony Carrigan

This UGRL scholarship will enable a student to take part in a significant AHRC and Ignite-funded research project based in the School of English, entitled Representing Postcolonial Disaster (http://arts.leeds.ac.uk/postcolonialdisaster/). The project looks at how postcolonial literature and films challenge clear-cut divisions between social and natural catastrophes, and disrupt linear notions of reconstruction in global contexts. It involves a range of external partnerships and collaborations, including with the Bhopal Medical Appeal, Postcode Films, Kala Sangam, The Tetley gallery, and Peepal Tree Press, and the scholarship will build on these through an independent focus on disasters, mental health, and creative practice.

The student will pursue independent research into the representation of mental health issues and long-term recovery in the wake of global disasters, with a particular focus on the Bhopal Gas Disaster. This speaks to the Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities research theme of colonial and postcolonial health, and to Dr Clare Barker’s shared interests in particular (Dr Barker has agreed to offer additional supervisory support during the scholarship). The student will develop interdisciplinary research skills by situating findings in the context of current research in global health and the environmental and medical humanities. The student will receive support in accessing and analysing resources in the Health Sciences library along with the Brotherton, and synthesising scientific and arts-based research. The student will also have the opportunity to travel to and conduct research at the Sambhavna Library and Documentation Centre in Bhopal, the world’s largest repository of resources on the disaster.

The scholarship will allow the student to apply research findings through external collaboration, and is situated in the context of existing intersectoral partnerships with the Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) and Kala Sangam, a South Asian Arts Centre based in Bradford. Specifically, the student will take part in development meetings with Melanie Hadida (BMA) and Kala Sangam’s artistic director, Geetha Upadhyaya, leading to the construction of new performance-based art dealing with issues of post-disaster health and recovery (this may be in conjunction with Dr Carrigan’s plans to collaborate with Kala Sangam in applying for AHRC Follow-on Funding to support further impact and engagement activities). The student’s research will support the findings of the Representing Postcolonial Disaster project in providing a conceptual base for collaborating on a creative production – most likely a theatrical or musical performance piece – to be staged at Kala Sangam. The student will also have the opportunity to write reflective articles on this to be published on the BMA and project websites, and to archive research findings on these platforms.

The scholarship will make a significant contribution to extending the reach and impact of the Representing Postcolonial Disaster project by looking at the under-examined area of disasters and mental health, and will provide the student with research and leadership skills that cross-cut the postcolonial, environmental humanities, and medical humanities research areas within the Faculty. The student will also have an opportunity to present research findings, with supervisory support, at one of the Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities research seminars.

Project Title: Mapping the Museum Project lead: Michael Finn, PRHS

This project will provide the opportunity for an undergraduate student to contribute to the work of the Museum of the History of Science, Technology & Medicine. Based within the School of Philosophy, Religion & History of Science, the Museum works to preserve, study and display items of scientific heritage from Leeds and the surrounding area. Across the university campus there are over 20,000 items, ranging from biological specimens and geological samples to early computers and laboratory instruments.

For this project, the student would be responsible for putting together an interactive map of collections across the campus, which would go on the Museum’s website (http://arts.leeds.ac.uk/museum-of-hstm/ ) and represent a significant development in making the collections more accessible to staff, students and the public. The project would involve visiting the various collections, photographing them, and writing reports on each that would be suitable for online reading, including links to further information. The student would use library and archive materials, as well as the collections themselves, and would be encouraged to add to the project with their own initiatives, whilst developing research in those areas in which they are most interested. In addition to the interactive map of collections on campus, their findings would also be made available through posts on the Museum’s blog, and through contributing to public displays. The student would be supervised and mentored by members of the Museum, and receive training in various aspects of museum practice, as well as guidance in conducting historical research.

Project Title: Remembering War differently: Resistance to the First World War and the Centenary 2014-18 Project lead: Ingrid Sharp, LCS, UGRL mentor: Sabine Grimshaw

The centenary of the First World War has attracted a great deal of public and academic interest and offers a chance to re-examine some of the assumptions made about the causes, nature and legacy of the conflict. Previously marginalised and under-researched groups are now the objects of scholarly and public interest, including the minority in each combatant and non-combatant nation who opposed the war and worked for peace throughout the conflict, often across national boundaries. As leader of the Resistance to War strand of the University’s Legacies of War project, I am co- ordinating a series of Leeds-based events designed to mark 2016, 100 years since the introduction of conscription into Britain during the First World War, as a year of conscience. During this year, a number of national, international and local events will bring the stories of those who did their utmost to bring the war to an end, often at great personal cost, to the fore in the public mind.

At Leeds, I will be working in collaboration with local and national peace groups, museums and academic networks and Leeds City Council to offer a programme of events throughout 2016:

1. March 2016: an international academic conference Resistance to War 1914-24. 2. May-December 2016: Exhibition at Leeds City Museum: local resistance to war (Quakers and Conscientious Objectors). 3. October 2016: Peace History Conference to be held in Leeds for the first time. This is a high-profile event that brings together leading academics, activist and community groups working to build peace.

The project will enable to student to undertake research into an aspect of pacifism and protest against the war locally, nationally or internationally and place this within a broader understanding of the way these aspects are being commemorated through:

• assistance with the organisation and running of the conference and attendance at conference panels and public-facing events • contribution to the planning of the peace history conference and Exhibition • working closely with Sabine Grimshaw, who holds a Collaborative Doctoral Award on Pacifism and Protest shared by Leeds and the Imperial War Museum North.

The student will develop high-level research skills, using the Liddle Collection as well as extensive material held at Leeds and elsewhere, and will work with her supervisor and mentor in identifying research questions, structuring and bringing a research project to a successful conclusion and disseminating the findings. S/he will also gain valuable experience of and a real insight into academic life and its impact on the community. The student will also develop skills to enhance employability, through helping to plan and support the events s/he will develop team-working skills, organisational and interpersonal skills.

Project title: The Changing Face of Christianity in Britain: African Churches in Leeds Project lead: Adriaan van Klinken & Melanie Prideaux, PRHS Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) at the University of Leeds has a long tradition of studying religious dynamics in the city, particularly through the Community Religions Project (CRP) that has been running for almost 40 years. However, the presence of African churches in Leeds has never been categorically investigated. Studies in other British and European contexts show that African-initiated and/or -dominated churches are among the most vibrant faith communities in many cities and contribute to a revitalisation of Christianity in secularised contexts. Through a wide range of activities they contribute to religious vitality and innovation, but also provide social services and contribute to social cohesion, particularly among marginalised groups such as asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants.

African churches in Leeds are clearly growing in number, activity and visibility, but little is known: How many there are, what buildings they use, which people they attract, their activities, their relation to other churches and faith groups, their perception of the city and their role in the city. This project, developed in collaboration with the Leeds Church Institute (LCI), addresses these questions through quantitative and qualitative research. The project aims to provide insight into African churches in Leeds, their religious and social dynamics, and how they (re)shape the face of Christianity in the city.

The proposed UGRL scholarship will be part of the CRP and will build on the study of African Christianity as a major strength in research and teaching within TRS at Leeds. The scholarship would provide a promising UG student with an opportunity to benefit from existing knowledge and expertise while participating in this project and conducting original empirical research into African churches in Leeds.

1. In the first summer (2015), the student over a period of six weeks will do a quantitative exercise: a mapping of African-initiated/-dominated churches in Leeds (based on internet research and existing knowledge of LCI/CRP contacts; complemented by email/telephone contact with the identified African churches to collect as much as possible of the following data: name and address, website and email of the church; name and contact details of the pastor; overview of activities.

2. In the second summer (2016), the student collects material (e.g. brochures, leaflets, booklets, photos, videos) from as many churches identified under (1) as possible as well as a photo of their place of worship (exterior). Further, from a selection of at least five churches, the student collects in-depth interviews with pastors and makes photographs and/or video recordings of the place of worship (interior) and the congregations.

The student will be involved in the organisation of a symposium on African churches in Leeds (2016), to be organised by the CRP and Centre for Religion and Public Life in collaboration with the LCI, as well as in the preparations for a future exhibition on the Changing Face of Christianity in Leeds (organised in collaboration with LCI).

The student will be provided with appropriate training and preparation before embarking on the fieldwork.