The Melbourne-Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program is an international collaboration between The University of Melbourne, Australia, and the RTG Minor Cosmopolitanisms, Faculty of Arts of the University of Potsdam, Germany.
The University of Melbourne (UoM) and the University of Potsdam signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2017 to establish Joint Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctoral research degree programs.
In Potsdam, the RTG Minor Cosmopolitanisms has successfully been operating with international partners since October 2016. At the German end, the plan for the Melbourne—Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program ties into their already existing financial and institutional framework. Two PhD students of the second cohort (starting date: October 2019) have been recruited to undertake joint degrees within the Melbourne-Potsdam cooperation. Another three will be recruited in Minor Cosmopolitanisms’s third round of PhDs, starting in October 2022. These students shall be matched by an equal number of students with funding from the University of Melbourne with starting dates in February 2020 (two students) and February 2023 (three students).
The first cohort successfully recruited 3 Joint PhD candidates across three disciplinary/thematic groupings.
- establishment of new ways of studying and understanding the cosmopolitan project against and beyond its Eurocentric legacies;
- examination of concretes critical, artistic as well as everyday practices which challenge the divide between cultural relativism and humanist universalism;
- promotion of an understanding of cosmopolitanism in the plural which combines visions of justice, peace and conviviality with an ethical commitment to difference.
All successful candidates will spend at least a year at each institution over the course of their candidature and be eligible to graduate with a jointly awarded PhD recognised with a testamur from each University.
Meet our current graduate research cohort and learn more about their background and research topics.
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Dylan Rowen
In March of 2020, I started my Cultural Studies PhD candidature in the School of Culture and Communication, under the International Research Training Group joint collaboration Minor Cosmopolitanisms with the University of Potsdam, Germany. In 2019, I was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Art History after completing my Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in English at the University of …
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Brittany Craig
In 2016, I completed my Bachelor of Arts (with a double major in English Literature & Theatre and Creative Writing) with First Class Honours at the University of Melbourne. During this time, I was one of two artists on a panel entitled ‘The Early Words: Writing Trauma’ at Melbourne’s annual Emerging Writers’ Festival. In 2018, I completed my Honours (First Class) …
Current Melbourne and Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD projects are listed below.
Associate Professor Chris Healy
Chris Healy is an Associate Professor in Cultural Studies in the School of Culture and Communication of the Faculty of Arts. He is also the Academic Lead of the Melbourne-Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program.
Dr Sarah Balkin
Sarah Balkin is a Lecturer in English & Theatre Studies in the School of Culture and Communication of the Faculty of Arts. Along with Natalya Lusty, she is also the lead of the Melbourne-Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program project on The Queer Modernist Novel: Experimentations in Bodily Desire and Textual Aesthetics.
Professor Natalya Lusty
Natalya Lusty is Professor of Cultural Studies and an ARC Future Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication of the Faculty of Arts. Along with Sarah Balkin, she is also the lead of the Melbourne-Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program project on The Queer Modernist Novel: Experimentations in Bodily Desire and Textual Aesthetics.
Dr Hannah McCann
Hannah McCann is a Lecturer in Cultural Studies in the School of Culture and Communication of the Faculty of Arts. She is also the lead of the Melbourne-Potsdam Minor Cosmopolitanisms Joint PhD program project on Analysing Fatness: How Fatness is Perceived in Different Western Contexts.
The IRTG Coordinator team consists of:
- Petra Van Nieuwenhoven
- Jennifer De Gabriele
The team works with the Academic Lead on operational activities, including recruitment and the end to end graduate research lifecycle processes for joint PhD candidates. Please direct all your enquiries to jointphd-admin@unimelb.edu.au.