Geographies of example: Finding the example within the exception and beyond (GeoEx) (Ref: GeoEx-SSH2026)

About the Project

The Department of Geography and Environment at Loughborough University is inviting applications for a Doctoral Studentship to start in October 2026.

“Why and how are some lives depicted and positioned as expendable while others are deemed not just worth protecting but also of exemplary treatments?” is the question that broadly drives this project given the starkly differentiated regards for human lives and rights on a planetary scale. While existing scholarship offers an answer, it fails to differentiate between the expendable and the exemplary lives; instead, it dilutes both within the same framework of the exception primarily inspired by Giorgio Agamben’s reding of the state, sovereignty, biopolitics, and the exception (1998, 2005). Read accordingly, although the example operates on a similar assumption but in the opposite manner, has remained unexamined in political geography and other cognate disciplines. The project stems from such observations that “the sovereign’s power is manifested not only via the production of a state of exception but also equally through the creation of a state of example” hence, remains underpinned by the production of both a homo sacer and a homo exemplar (Ferdoush, 2025, p. 1). It aims to pursue one overarching goal which is to answer: Why, where, how, on whom, and for how long does the sovereign decide to display its power of the example? This is informed by three specific objectives:

1. To spatially locate the example within and beyond the exception,
2. To identify how time is used in the creation and treatment of exemplary cases and,
3. To investigate the arbitrary power of the sovereign in treating categories as exemplary or exceptional as it wills.

The project will primarily use ethnographic and participatory approaches including tools such as interviews, FGDs, and observation along with auto-photography and activity-journals with protection seekers across Bangladesh, Finland, and the UK. The doctoral researcher will be primarily responsible for the UK sites (the Midlands and Greater London, provisionally) conducting ethnographic fieldwork while will also be required to visit other field sites briefly as part of the broader design of the project inspired by co-creative approaches. The interview transcripts will be subject to systematic qualitative analysis in order to ensure the rigorous interpretation of the data. Project results will be disseminated to multi-disciplinary academic and policy audiences.

The project is funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award. It is a multi-year and multi-sited collaboration between different team members of the project. The successful candidate will play a full role in the design, execution and dissemination of the project under the supervision of Dr Azmeary Ferdoush, Geography and Environment, School of Social Sciences, Loughborough University.

We are looking for a highly talented and dedicated PhD student with a 1st class or 2:1 degree in a relevant social sciences discipline (e.g., geography, sociology, political science, and anthropology). A master’s degree in a relevant area is desirable though not necessary, and equivalent professional experience will be considered. Previous experience with qualitative research techniques is desirable.

Application deadline: June 15, 2026
Interviews for this studentship are expected to take place in mid-July 2026.
Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Azmeary Ferdoush, Lecturer in Human Geography, by email at m.ferdoush@lboro.ac.uk

Name of primary supervisor/CDT lead:
Azmeary Ferdoush m.ferdoush@lboro.ac.uk
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/subjects/geography-environment/staff/azmeary-ferdoush/

Entry requirements:
A 2:1 honours degree or equivalent international qualification in geography or a related discipline.

English language requirements:
Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements.

Funding information:
The studentship is for 3.5 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £20,780 per annum for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Due to funding restrictions, this is only available to those eligible for UK fees.

Funding for this studentship is awarded on a competitive basis and is not guaranteed; availability will depend on the outcome of the selection process and subject to final approval by the University.

Bench fees required: No

Closing date of advert: 15th June 2026

Start date: October 2026

Full-time/part-time availability: Full-time 3.5 years

Who is eligible to apply?: UK Only

How to Apply:
All applications should be made online. Under Campus, please select 'Loughborough' and select Programme 'Geography and Environment'. Please quote the advertised reference number GeoEx-SSH2026 in your application. Failure to include this could mean that your application is not processed.

To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit the minimum supporting documents. The following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

Note: You will need to upload a research proposal and a full CV along with other necessary documents as listed above. Please follow the LU guidelines in developing your proposal and tell us what you envision in line with the advertised project.

Project search terms:
human geography, political geography, social geography, migration, borders, refugee, state, sovereignty, exception, example

Email Address:
ssh.pgr@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk