Doctoral Study on Deep Adaptation to Climate Disruption

Some of us are waking up to the climate tragedy we face. To the disruptions to our way of life that will be unfolding over the next decade or so. To the inevitable collapse of our social and economic systems.

If this sounds too dark to you, please catch up on the latest climate science here.

There are so many ways to respond: some nihilist, some hedonist, some delusional, some loving, some ambitious. One way to respond includes attempts at combining our existing skills, knowledge and networks with the intention of growing into a different way of life.

In this situation we do not have time to waste on activities which are not, in some way, truly beautiful. For me there is something truly beautiful about research, which is now so often lost in institutional settings. That beauty is the transdisciplinary exploration of subjects, unlearning unhelpful assumptions, and making new sense of situations in ways that are meaningful to share. It is that kind of enquirer I seek to support and learn with.

I am inviting initial enquiries, before the end of April 2018, to research for a PhD on deep adaptation to climate change that would start on October 1st. Information what that topic involves is here. These will be interdiscipinary studies, that parrallel your engagement with this subject in your daily life over the coming 3 to 4 years. Therefore, appropriate methods will be either action research, cooperative inquiry or living theory (google these if they are new to you, before getting in touch).

The PhD research can be undertaken either in residence in Cumbria for 3 years full-time, or part-time over 4 years, via remote-working with visits to Cumbria. These PhDs are entirely self-funded, we do not have scholarships for this opportunity. Information on fees etc is here.

Information on me, your prospective supervisor, and how I am approaching this deep adaptation topic is here.

I am also accepting PhD applications for people working on currency innovation and alternative exchanges systems as methods for community-based resilience.

Do you meet the following criteria?

• You have a Masters degree
• You have a 2.1 or above at undegraduate level
• You can self-fund your studies
• You can either move to Cumbria or do this PhD remotely part time with a few visits to Cumbria each year
• You can start on October 1st 2018
• You know what Im talking about by having read information on the links above

If so, then please prepare one page of A4, maximum, by May 1st 2018, detailing the following

• What your topic is
• Why you are interested in it
• What intellectual schools of thought you anticipate drawing upon to research it
• What your Masters was in
• What your current work or volunteering is in and how it relates to your proposed topic
• A statement that you have read my blogs on latest climate science on the deep adaptation agenda (the links above).

Please note that

• We do not offer PhDs by publication
• We do not accept people who have their own mega theory that they have already half written and would like a PhD for when they finish writing it.. because a PhD is about becoming a skilled researcher through the process of the 3 years, not just getting a label for existing ideas.

Send this to me via drjbendell AT (the ubiquitous) gmail.com

Unfortunately due to a full inbox, tennis elbow, and a growing self-respect, I will only reply to people who exactly follow the information above.