The ingenuity of cardboard
Student placement project
- Project supervisors
Lucy Razzall and Rachel Hillman
- Department
Research, Grants and Academic Engagement & Education and Outreach
- Maximum number of student placements available on the project per academic year
One
- Level of study
Open to PhD and MA/MSc students
- Deadline for Expressions of Interest from students
Applications for this placement have now closed
- Specific knowledge and/or skills required for the placement
Some familiarity with pre-1900 records or naval history would be an advantage; an interest in interdisciplinary research and creative outputs; an interest in research-led education and outreach with diverse audiences.
Project description
The project’s objective is to develop research-led resources inspired by a unique object found in naval correspondence from 1804. A ship's captain sends a letter enclosing a small cardboard device for sending secret signals between ships, with instructions for its use.
The student will develop outputs for informal learning with family audiences (children aged 7–11): a workshop making cardboard code devices, and a creative resource for the family pages of The National Archives' website. These will feed into the Time Travel Club programme of creative sessions inspired by the collection.
The student will also co-author a blog post (or ‘Highlights’ gallery) with Lucy Razzall about this record in the wider context of paper nautical instruments. The student will gain experience of collaborative working across different departments, and of the process of developing a learning activity from the starting point in The National Archives' records to delivery and evaluation.
This is a discrete project centred on one record and leading to defined outputs. However, it is also part of a wider plan for collaboration between the supervisors to develop other Education & Outreach resources on cardboard histories in The National Archives' collection. This is inspired by Lucy Razzall's AHRC-funded project The Many Lives of Cardboard.