Language in Nottingham and the region: celebrating language as intangible cultural heritage

Wednesday 20 September 2023

Key Details

Project Title: Language in Nottingham and the region: celebrating language as intangible cultural heritage.

Deadline: 12 noon, 15 December 2023

Host University: Nottingham Trent University

School/ department: School of Arts and Humanities

Start date: 03 April 2024

Funding offer: Tuition fees covered in full (worth approx. £15k across full PhD programme). Monthly stipend based on £18,622 per annum, pro rata, tax free.

Working style: Primarily in-person at host university. Flexible working supported. Working pattern to be agreed between successful candidate and lead supervisor.  

Project Supervisors

• Lead Academic Supervisor: Prof. Natalie Braber, NTU
• Academic Co-Supervisor: Prof. Nicola McLelland, UoN
• Community Supervisor: Cathy Mahmood, ChalleNGe Nottingham

About the project

In this project, you will approach language as a form of “intangible cultural heritage” to be acknowledged, celebrated, and promoted, just like other forms of cultural heritage (such as historical buildings and artworks), with a particular focus on the language heritages of the city of Nottingham. You will first describe and map the range of stakeholders and stakeholder groups to whose activity’s language is relevant in some way in the city and region. You will then develop, test, and evaluate possible approaches to supporting and celebrating language heritages, including multilingualism, in the activities of three different stakeholder groups:

• local teachers and schools.
• local community organisations (e.g., Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, Refugee Roots, and Himmah)
• cultural, arts and education organisations (e.g., Nottingham City Libraries, Nottingham City of Literature, Nottingham Galleries and Museums service (Wollaton Hall, Newstead Abbey and Nottingham Castle) and New Art Exchange).

Based on this work, you will propose a strategy for embedding awareness of language heritages in the regular long-term programming planning of such organisations, to make it part of “business as usual”. You will thus contribute to a step-change in the confidence with which people in Nottingham talk about, celebrate, and document their language heritage(s), including enhancing the confidence of young people in their own language repertoires and their multilingual literacies, thus increasing their confidence and raising aspirations for their educational outcomes. This will allow for language as intangible cultural heritage to be conveyed by collaborating with local communities, while also allowing such organisations to widen their participation by using language as a route into their own specific areas of focus.

Project Aims 

Through mapping and case studies, the project will examine how local organisations reach their target audiences and evaluate existing activity about forging partnerships to advocate for the protection of language as heritage and to enrich diverse communities by engaging with their vital cultural assets. This evaluation will take place at three levels:

1. Teachers: what are schools doing to celebrate language(s) and how can this be extended?
2. Grassroots:  how to disseminate ICH in a simple way that brings communities together around the theme of language?  How do we understand language(s) within the city and how can we collaborate?
3. Cultural organisations: how can language be embedded as a notion and strategy and how can it be used to further engage with and collaborate with local communities, to enable inclusivity, equality, and diversity, in engagement and participation?

Recognising that language is a vehicle for social inclusion and integral to our identity, the project will yield an understanding of how language as ICH is currently understood within cultural sector work. It will explore the potential to grow this work, and ways to integrate it into existing strategic priorities (e.g., Child-Friendly City; Carbon Neutral 2028).

Competencies 

Co(l)laboratory Core Competencies
Category	Competency	Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I)
Comprehension and evaluation	Strong understanding of the project and its subject matter.	A / I
	Analytical, researcher mindset with keen attention to detail.	A / I
	Communicate complex concepts with clarity and precision.	A / I
	Able to identify connections, patterns, gaps, and irregularities in information/data.	I
	Able to interpret data/information confidently with logic and empathy to derive meaning.	I
Social and emotional	Demonstrable experience of responding effectively changing contexts, information and demands.	A
	Ability to persevere in the face of challenges/failures and to remain constructive in developing solutions.	A
	Demonstrable passion for learning with clear drive and curiosity to undertake this specific research project.	A / I
	Willingness to immerse oneself in the research subject matter and make a contribute to new knowledge through a PhD.	A / I
	Strong desire to make a positive community impact through the research.	A / I
	Willingness to think deeply about complex concepts and engage with academic ideas and theory.	A / I
Preparedness and potential for success	Experience of working and collaborating effectively with different stakeholders.	A
	High level of self-motivation and ability to work with minimal guidance.	A / I
	Strong organisational and time-management skills with the ability to balance and prioritise multiple tasks.	A / I
	Ability to identify potential challenges and complexities and thoughtfully consider possible solutions.	A / I
	Able to identify the technical, personal, or professional skills required for a task and take action to develop these.	A / I
Community Context	Genuine desire to undertake community-engaged research over more traditional approaches to research.	A
	Understand the impact of and need for the inclusion of diverse experiences and points of view in research.	A / I
	Appreciation/understanding of the importance of community insight and experience in the generation of new knowledge.	A / I
	Awareness/understanding of the broader societal context related to the subject matter of the project.	A / I

	Project Specific Competencies
Essential	Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I)	Desirable	Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I)
Experience in a relevant a relevant setting such as languages education, literacy education, linguistics, community arts engagement, or another area relevant to the project.	A / I	Experience working with diverse groups of people in community or professional settings.	A / I
Appreciation of the value of language to people and communities.	A / I	Experience of techniques such as survey design and evaluation, focus groups, ethnographic approaches to research, or similar.	A / I
Understanding of the concept of cultural heritage and its societal relevance.	A / I	Experience in analysing and interpreting quantitative data.	A / I

Reference for Further Reading

1. Bialostocka, O. 2017. ‘Inhabiting a language: Linguistic interactions as a living repository for intangible cultural heritage.’ International Journal of Intangible History 12: 18-26.  

2. Braber, N and V. Howard. 2023. Safeguarding language as intangible cultural heritage. International Journal of Intangible Cultural Heritage 18. 146-158. 

3. Braber, N. and J. Robinson. 2018. East Midlands English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 

4. Harrison, Rodney. 2010. ‘What is heritage?’ In R. Harrison (ed.) Understanding the Politics of Heritage. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp.5-42. 

5. Sarma, Rashmirekha. 2015. ‘Disappearing dialect: the Idu-Mishmi language of Arunachal Pradesh (India).’ International Journal of Intangible Heritage 10, 61-72. 

6. Sönmez, Margaret J.-M., Wellington Gahtan, Maja, Cannata, Nadia. 2020.  Museums of Language and the Display of Intangible Cultural Heritage. London: Routledge.