“Coaxing Nature to the Screen”: Frank Percy Smith and the Transformations of British Natural History in the Pre‑WWII Era of Technological Innovation and Mass Entertainment

Session 2025 –Closing Date 12 noon (UK time) 5 March 2025

Before applying for this studentship, ensure you visit the WRoCAH website for full project details and application information.

Award provides fees and maintenance at UKRI Rates (£20,780 in Session 2025/26) plus £600 enhancement per annum.

This is an AHRC WRoCAH funded Collaborative Doctoral Award between the School of Philosophy, Religion & History of Science, University of Leeds and the National Science and Media Museum.

The project is a historical inquiry into the remaking of British natural history in the wake of new sound and vision technologies associated with cinema. It will be anchored in a study of the career of the London‑born amateur naturalist turned “kinematographic wizard” Frank Percy...