Phd sur les croyances aux fantômes à l’Université de Hertfordshire

Une offre de Phd de Richard Wiseman et Owen Davies pour réaliser un Phd portant sur les croyances au fantômes :

The University of Hertfordshire is investing in its research base, and is pleased to offer the following opportunity to work in interdisciplinary research, under the supervision of Prof Richard Wiseman (psychology) and Dr Owen Davies (history). We are offering a three year full-time studentship leading to the award of PhD, on the following topic:

In 1950 an English Gallup survey revealed that only 10 per cent of people believed in ghosts, yet opinion polls today suggest that between 36 and 42 per cent of the British population believe in them. While it has been a regular topic for pollsters, such simplistic questions as ‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ tell us little about why belief has increased over the last fifty years. This Studentship will explore this from historical and psychological perspectives, paying particular attention to the secularisation debate that has dominated sociological and historical research on twentieth-century religion. That ghost belief has become more socially acceptable as formal religious participation has declined throws up important questions about the growth of a pluralistic spirituality. The student will devise questionnaires and conduct interviews with a cross-section of Hertfordshire¹s multi-ethnic society to explore how individual and generational patterns of belief have changed over time in different religious and ethnic communities.

The studentship will pay your fees and provide a stipend of £12,600. Due to funding body restrictions eligibility is limited to UK and EU citizens.

The successful candidates should normally hold at least a first or upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) from a recognised institution.

For further information on the project please contact Prof Wiseman (r.wiseman@herts.ac.uk) or Dr Davies (o.davies@herts.ac.uk). For an application form please email research.studentships@herts.ac.uk