Race, translation, and ancient Greek tragedy

This an exciting opportunity to join the ARC DECRA project 'Gender, translation, and ancient Greek tragedy: Revitalising ancient drama for contemporary performance' as a PhD researcher. The central DECRA project seeks to explore and redress the gender imbalance behind performed English-language translations of Greek tragedy, and to explore, in theory and practice, methods for translating the fragments of lost tragedies, to widen the canon of texts available for performance.

The attached PhD project widens the remit of the DECRA, enabling the project to explore not only translation and gender, but also translation and race, with the studentship exploring Greek tragedy, translation and adaptation, and indigeneity. The student will explore strategies for translating and adapting Greek tragedy into an Indigenous context, building upon the successes of Black Medea by Wesley Enoch, and attempts to indigenise Shakespeare to enact meaningful reconciliation work, such as Queensland Theatre's 2022 Othello, adapted by Jimi Bani and Jason Klarwein to relocate Shakespeare's tragedy to the context of the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion, and Kylie Bracknell's translation of Macbeth, as Hecate, into the Indigenous Noongar language for Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company (2020). Associate Professor Rob Pensalfini, an expert in Indigenous languages and the Artistic Director of Queensland Shakespeare Company, will be the associate supervisor. The project may take a theoretical approach, but we particularly welcome applications from playwrights interested in pursuing a creative writing PhD, in which case the project will follow the format of the UQ School of Languages and Cultures translation PhD and will involve a First Nations PhD candidate authoring a creative translation/adaptation of a chosen tragedy, with an accompanying exegesis.

Applicants should have a first-class honours degree (or equivalent) and/or a master's degree, awarded with distinction grade (or equivalent). Their academic and/or artistic achievements to date should show a good strategic fit to the project brief.

The School of Communication and Arts is a large, multi-disciplinary unit with an international reputation for outstanding research and teaching in English Literature, Creative and Professional Writing, Drama, Art History, Communication, Film and Television Studies, Journalism, and Public Relations. It has over 60 academic and research staff and 16 professional staff. SCA academics are widely published internationally and have extensive research backgrounds.

The School is home to AustLit, an internationally recognised research and publishing facility supporting studies of Australian culture. BlackWords, a vitally important part of AustLit, is a deep and wide record of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander publications. It covers all forms of creative writing, plus film, television, criticism and scholarship, both by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and literary and storytelling cultures.

The School hosts formal centres, the Centre for Creative and Critical Writing and the Centre for Communication and Social Change, and a number of interdisciplinary research clusters. A particular point of pride is the newly refurbished, historically significant Avalon Theatre.

This is an Fellowship support scheme scholarship project that aligns with a recently awarded Australian Government grant.

The scholarship includes:

• living stipend of $36,400 per annum tax free (2025 rate), indexed annually
• your tuition fees covered
• single overseas student health cover (OSHC).

Learn more about the Fellowship support scheme scholarship.

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history

A working knowledge of Greek tragedy in contemporary theatre and/or contemporary playwriting would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the field/s of postcolonial studies, theatre historiography and the potential for scholastic success.

This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 3, 2026. To allow time for your application to be processed, we recommend applying no later than 31 March, 2026 31 December, 2025.

You can start in an earlier research quarter. See application dates.

Before you apply

1. Check your eligibility for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
2. Prepare your documentation.
3. Contact Dr Emma Cole (e.cole@uq.edu.au) to discuss your interest and suitability.

When you apply

You apply for this scholarship when you submit an application for a PhD. You don’t need to submit a separate scholarship application.

In your application ensure that under the ‘Scholarships and collaborative study’ section you select:

• My higher degree is not collaborative
• I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship
• UQ Earmarked Scholarship type.

Apply now