Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Opportunity | Tate and The Courtauld

Imperial Intimacies: Portraiture and the East India Company, c.1757–1857
AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentship
Start date: Wednesday 1 October 2025
Application deadline: Sunday 6 April 2025

The history of the East India Company lies at the heart of more expansive stories about Britain and its place in the contemporary world: the history of imperialism, globalisation, liberal reform, and the making of the modern state. Yet, in many of these stories, the actual lives and experiences of individuals – both Indian and British – appear only faintly.

This project will use the extraordinary array of portraits produced in connection with the East India Company between 1757 and 1857 – including those within Tate’s collection – to uncover new narratives about a wide array of individuals involved in, or impacted by, British imperialism in South Asia. In doing so, the project will recover the lives of forgotten and often deliberately marginalised people, attempting to reconstruct their personal beliefs, experiences, and aspirations.

This project will be jointly supervised by Dr Tom Young, the Courtauld, and Dr Alice Insley, Tate, and the student will be expected to spend time at both the Courtauld and Tate, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK.

The studentship can be studied either full- or part-time, and it is open to both home and international applicants. Students should have a Master’s Degree in a relevant subject or be able to demonstrate relevant equivalent experience.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages.

Any candidates considering applying should feel welcome to contact the supervisors, Alice Insley ([email protected]) or Tom Young ([email protected]), if they have any further questions about the project or application process.

Read the full CDP description below or on the Courtauld jobs site.