Transforming Australian Design Cultures Through the Department Store 1954 - 75

We are seeking an outstanding PhD candidate to join the ARC Linkage Project “Transforming Australian Design Cultures Through the Department Store 1954–75”.

The project investigates the role of the department store in the transmission, diffusion and promotion of international design ideas and practises in postwar Australia. Focusing on David Jones’ program international exhibitions between 1954 and 1975, it examines the department store’s role in shaping design cultures in Australia.

The project is a collaboration between UNSW Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the Powerhouse Museum and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The PhD candidate will be based at the School of Art & Design at UNSW Sydney and will be supervised by the Project Lead, Associate Professor Mark Ian Jones, and Dr Katarzyna Jeżowska. The successful candidate will develop their own original research project, in consultation with the supervisory team and within the broad scope of the ARC Linkage Project.

We are particularly interested in projects that complement or extend one or more of the project’s themes through areas such as:

• the circulation, consumption and reception of design cultures, including in regional, rural and remote Australia;
• comparative perspectives on Australian department stores and retail cultures;
• catalogues, advertising and other media through which design ideas circulated;
• cultural and design diplomacy and international exchange;
• overlooked actors, communities, places and networks in Australian design cultures; and
• the reception and adaptation of modern design in Australian everyday life.

These areas are indicative rather than prescriptive. We welcome proposals that bring an original question, case study or perspective to the broader themes of the project. The emphasis on circulation and reception, including through catalogues and into rural Australia, reflects an area specifically identified for the PhD in the Linkage application.

Who is eligible to apply? 

By the time of appointment, applicants must have completed at least a first or upper second-class Honours degree in a relevant humanities discipline. Applicants should demonstrate a good understanding of design history subjects and methods and experience relevant to historical and/or archival research.

This opportunity is open to domestic applicants only (Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident).

Scholarship

We offer a scholarship for full-time study for up to 3.0 years, at the amount of $39,206 per annum (2026 rate, indexed). The intended starting date is Term 2 (May) 2027.

To express interest, please email Associate Professor Mark Ian Jones at mark.i.jones@unsw.edu.au no later than 12th October 11.59pm AEST, attaching your CV, academic transcript/s and a brief 500-word proposal outlining a research question and methodology and how it would contribute to the broader themes of the Linkage Project. 

Please include [Surname] - PhD David Jones in the email subject line.

Shortlisted candidates will be notified by early November and invited to an interview. The successful candidate will work with Associate Professor Jones and Dr Jeżowska to develop their PhD research proposal, for the School of Art & Design’s mandatory pre-admission.