PhD Scholarship: Unfreedom, Voices, Redress: Plantation Cultures of the Western Pacific
Overview
Title
PhD Scholarship: Unfreedom, Voices, Redress: Plantation Cultures of the Western Pacific
College
Opening date
02-01-2026
Closing date
31-03-2026
Scholarship value
$36,060 per annum
Scholarship duration
3 years
Payment term
Level of Study
Higher Degrees Research
Description
This exciting ARC project uses fresh scholarly and creative approaches to examine the hidden histories of the Western Pacific’s Anglo and German plantations. Our team will examine indenture, blackbirding (kidnapping) and other forms of unfreedom, with a focus on gender and mixed-race relationships. Linking archives in English and German, and foregrounding Pacific voices, especially of women, we will generate new knowledge of plantation lives, the labour trade and its legacies. Working with museums and Pacific artists we will also meet urgent demands for public redress and commemoration. Benefits include bringing the Pacific into conversation with global debates on unfreedom and slavery and advancing political change across Australia and the Western Pacific.
The candidate will work with the project team
- To mobilise new cultural, material and creative approaches to examine the hidden histories and legacies of Anglo and German plantations of the Western Pacific in Queensland, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Sāmoa.
- To foreground Pacific voices, especially of women, and draw together new archives with testimony, material culture, and art
- To bring the Pacific into conversation with larger transnational and new imperial histories of slavery and unfreedom.
- To generate new knowledge by identifying hitherto unseen non-Anglo archives, resulting in alternate, enriched stories of plantation lives across the Western Pacific.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the award of this scholarship a student must: meet PhD admission requirements including: have an Australian Honours degree Class 1 or 2A or equivalent qualification (at least AQF Level 8), including a research component of at least 6 months’ full-time study achieving Distinction (75%) OR including evidence of equivalent research experience, such as a substantial first-author refereed publication or track record as an investigator on a competitive grant; and
- be available to commence as a full-time PhD student at Flinders University in semester 1, 2026.
- A background in Pacific Studies, heritage and history, or museums and material culture studies or similar is desirable.
Application information
ADMISSION to HDR
Those who apply for the scholarship opportunity who have not already applied for admission to a relevant HDR must also apply. Instructions on how to apply for admission can be found here: https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/apply/apply-research-degree/how-to-apply
By lodging this separate application, applicants acknowledge:
- The ‘Supervisor confirmation’ must refer to the application for this scholarship
- The application for PhD admission will only be assessed where:
- The applicant is successful in being awarded the scholarship
APPLICATION
Prior to submitting an application for the scholarship, prospective applicants are advised to contact the Project lead, Prof Penny Edmonds via email (penny.edmonds@flinders.edu.au) to discuss your interest and eligibility in the opportunity. The Project lead may invite you to apply and request (add relevant docs you might want) a copy of your CV together with a covering letter outlining your relevant qualifications, experience, research experience and reasons for applying for the scholarship.
The application for admission and the scholarship will be separate processes; applications for admission to candidature are submitted electronically.
Scholarship applications are to be submitted via email at: penny.edmonds@flinders.edu.au
