PhDone! Dr. Steve Westlake

In the latest in our #PhDone series we caught up with Dr. Steve Westlake.

Steve (he/him) was a Faculty of Arts Scholarship-funded PhD Student at the University of Bristol, originally from West Wales. Steve studied for his BA in History at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge and his MA in Comparative History at Central European University, Budapest. Alongside his studies, Steve has worked in the Higher Education Careers and Employability sector, as well as for the educational social enterprise Write On Point.

Q: Hi, Steve. First of all, congratulations on your successful viva! Can you tell us a bit about what your doctoral research was about?
Thanks! My thesis was entitled ‘An “Oxfam of the Mind”? Humanitarianism, Overseas Development at the BBC World Service, 1965-1999’.

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PhDone: Dr Callum Smith

In the latest in our #PhDone series, we caught up with Dr. Callum Smith.

Callum was an AHRC funded SWW DTP PhD student at the University of Bristol, originally from Wales. He has been studying visual political culture for the past seven years and  recently completed his doctoral studies at Bristol. He is a first generation political and social historian of eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain. His interests focus on visual political culture and its relationship to lower order political participation, radicalism and sociability. Though he has a firm grounding in the practice of history, given the often-visual nature of his research interests he is a proponent of interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies, drawing often from the fields of Art History, Semiotics, and English Literature. 

Headshot of Callum Smith

Hi, Callum! First of all, congratulations on your successful viva! Can you tell us a bit about what your doctoral research was about?

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#PhDone! With Dr. Alice Would

In the latest in our #PhDone! series, we catch up with Dr. Alice Would, who recently finished her doctorate in the department.

Alice received funding from the South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWWDTP) to undertake her PhD at the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter. She passed her viva in September 2021 and is currently a teacher in both History and Liberal Arts at Bristol. In December she will start as a Research Associate on Dr Andy Flack’s project ‘Dark-dwellers as more-than-human misfits.’

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PhDone! With Dr. Jiayi Tao

In the latest in this new series, we talk to Dr. Jiayi Tao about her doctorate, recently completed in the department.

Under the support of the China Scholarship Council, Jiayi Tao carried out her PhD project at the University of Bristol, passing her viva in September 2021. Her research interests lie in the history of international humanitarianism and modern Chinese history.

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PhDone! With Dr. Daniel Booker

In the latest in this new series, we talk to Dr. Daniel Booker about his doctorate, recently completed in the department.

After studying for his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of East Anglia, Dan Booker (He/Him) received funding to undertake his PhD in History at the University of Bristol in 2018. Dan passed his viva in September 2021 and is currently a tutor at the University of Bristol and Research Associate at the University of Lancaster.

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PhDone! With Dr. Blanche Plaquevent

In the latest in this new series, we talk to Dr. Blanche Plaquevent about her doctorate, recently completed in the department.

After studying in Paris, Blanche Plaquevent received funding from the SWW DTP to do her PhD at the University of Bristol. She passed her viva in July 2021 and will be working as a lecturer in history of gender and sexuality at the University of Glasgow from September.

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PhDone! With Dr. Xiao Liu

In the second of a new series, we talk to recent doctoral graduate Dr. Xiao Liu about his  research project, viva, and plans for the future.

Xiao (Shawn) Liu just completed his PhD in History in the University of Bristol, studying with Prof. Robert Bickers and Dr Adrian Howkins. His research interest is modern Chinese history, especially the development of science during the period of the Republic of China. Continue reading

PhDone! with Dr. Thomas M. Larkin

In the first of a new series, we talk to recent doctoral graduate Dr. Thomas Larkin about his  research project, viva, and plans for the future.

Thomas M. Larkin is the Augustine Heard Fellow at the University of Bristol, and a member of the Hong Kong History Project. His current research concerns nineteenth-century Anglo-American and Sino-American social and cultural interactions in China, and the application of global-microhistorical and transimperial methodologies. Continue reading