Growing old gracefully? Power and age in early modern Europe
Start date
January 2027 (Full-time/part-time availability)
Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years
About the Project
Whilst the gerontocratic Republic of Venice formalised the concentration of power among senior elites, early modern European history is full of less formal examples – not least King Lear - of the older generation enjoying wealth, privilege and power, whilst their adult children struggled to advance their place in economic and social hierarchies. To take late seventeenth-century Scotland, noble parents can be documented enjoying trips to the baths or ice-skating, whilst their heirs simultaneously raised children and had to support - or despair - of their parents’ activities at the top of the political pile, as well as providing medical care.
How then was ageing managed within families? Whilst there is substantial recent scholarship on family and dynastic histories, there is a tendency to focus on the active younger generations – leaders in waiting - rather than the experience of the older family members. Moreover, celebratory chronicles highlight the great events of dynastic history, rather than the daily experience of growing older and exercising power. This project will foreground the senior experience, as well as examine the frictions inherent between generations as the years passed.
Research Questions
Research Questions
We are keen to work with students to devise the exact research questions and geographical parameters of the project. However, we are interested in the following areas of enquiry:
- Changing ideas about life-stages, age-related hierarchies, gerontocracy and the value of experience among Europe’s social elites – whether noble, bourgeois or agricultural
- Challenges posed by younger generations to parental decision making, the control of wealth and lifestyle
- Methods taken by older generations to support longevity, whether medical, aesthetic or assistive and their reflections upon these
- Gendered approaches to ageing and power
- Mechanisms for the conservation of authority by senior generations within families
- Could old age be enjoyed?
- How far was work part of old age and how widely shared was a notion of ‘retirement’?
Sources and reach
Sources and reach
This project has been inspired by primary sources found in Scotland’s national and private archives and we would encourage candidates to engage with some pre-identified materials. However, the supervisory team also has significant experience in European research and would be happy to oversee comparative work, depending on the candidate’s languages and interests. This also has the scope to be a fully interdisciplinary project, including analysis of family letters, medical accounts, print and material culture, as well as funerary monuments, architecture and landscapes.
KE and Impact
Finally, the project has outstanding potential Knowledge Exchange activities of great relevance to age-focused charities, health researchers and sociologists. We would encourage students who wish to develop projects which might use historical example to inform conversations and have an impact upon policy makers in our ageing society.
Entry Requirements and Funding Notes
Entry Requirements and Funding Notes
A UK first-class or upper second-class honours Bachelor’s degree, or a UK Master’s degree with Merit (or their equivalent) are required for PhD admissions. Exceptional candidates holding only a Bachelor's degree may be considered on an individual basis. Candidates should be highly motivated with strong academic potential and a background in history, art history, nursing, or a related field. Previous experience working with archival documents would be an advantage, whilst European language skills may be necessary depending on the candidate’s preferred geographical focus.
This PhD can be undertaken remotely, but sustained research in a range of UK and/or European archives and fieldwork visits will be essential. Archival charges may apply.
This project is self-funded but the candidate will receive a 5% fee discount per annum when successfully accepted and enrolled for this project. This discount is available for any fee status. Alumni are welcome to apply, but please note that this discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other 麻豆中文映画传媒 offered discounts (such as an Alumni Discount).