Support Announcement:

Level:	PhD
Duty:	Research
Linguistic Field(s):	Anthropological Linguistics
Application Deadline:	10-Nov-2012
Supporting Institution:	James Cook University LCRC, The Cairns Institute
LL Issue:	23.3726
Posted:	06-Sep-2012
Support Description:	Applications are invited, from suitably qualified students, to work within the Australian Laureate Fellowship Project 'How gender shapes the world: a linguistic perspective', under the leadership of Professor Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (Australian Laureate Fellow). The project offers one or two PhD scholarships, to produce a comprehensive grammar of a language from the Sepik or an adjacent area of Papua New Guinea (with a special attention to linguistic and social conceptualization of gender), based on extensive immersion fieldwork. Students will have to enter the PhD program of the Language and Culture Research Centre in James Cook University Australia. Supervision will be provided by Professors Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, and R. M. W. Dixon, and other members of the Centre. PhDs in Australian universities generally involve no coursework, just a substantial dissertation. Candidates must thus have had a thorough coursework training before embarking on this PhD program. This should have included courses on morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonology/phonetics, taught from a non-formalist perspective. We place emphasis on work that has a sound empirical basis but also shows a firm theoretical orientation (in terms of general typological theory, or what has recently come to be called basic linguistic theory). The Cairns Institute is a world centre for advanced study relating to the tropics. Distinguished Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald is Research Leader for People and Societies of the Tropics, and Australian Laureate Fellow. Together with Professor R. M. W. Dixon, she heads the Language and Culture Research Centre, which includes Research Fellows and a growing number of doctoral students. In addition, senior scholars from across the world opt to spend their sabbatical in the LCRC. The scholarship will be paid at a higher level than the standard James Cook University rate (AUD $27,652 pa). Students coming from overseas are liable for a tuition fee; but this may be waived in the case of a student of high merit. An appropriate allowance will be made to cover fieldwork expenses. The scholarship is for four years (with no possibility for a further extension). The deadline for application is 10 November 2012. The academic year in Australia commences about 1st March. Successful applicants would take up their PhD scholarships between January and June 2013. It is absolutely essential that interested applicants should first get in touch with Professor Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (Alexandra.Aikhenvald jcu.edu.au), providing details of their background, qualifications and interests (including a curriculum vitae). Applicants are advised to send samples of their written work in linguistics (at least some of this should be in English). Competitive applicants will then be provided with details concerning the Project.
Application Mailing Address:	Prof Alexandra Aikhenvald JCU Cairns, McGregor Road Smithfield 4870 Cairns Qld 4870 Australia
Contact Information:	Prof Alexandra Aikhenvald Alexandra.Aikhenvald@jcu.edu.au Phone: 61 7 4042 1117 Fax: 61 7 4042 1880