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PhD in Social Anthropology
Deadline: 24.05.2020
Job description
Universitetet i Oslo
The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.
The Department of Social Anthropology is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Since its establishment in 1964, the Department has been a leading anthropological research and teaching environemnt internationally. It is one of the largest university departments for social anthropology in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries, offering a broad and creative work environment. Approximately 400 students are currently enrolled in the Bachelor and Master programmes at the Department. The Faculty of Social Sciences offers a PhD program, with 330 students currently enrolled. Of these, about thirty are currently following the study track in Social Anthropology.
Applications are invited for one Research Fellowship as PhD Candidate (SKO 1017) of Social Anthropology to be based at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo to be part of "Ports". The positions will be part of the research project “PORTS". Ethnographic explorations of infrastructure, work, and place around leading container ports” (see http://sv.uio.no/ports), led by associate professor Elisabeth Schober, and funded by the European Research Council.
The interface between sea and city, i.e. the port, lends itself to explorations of the changing nature of global capitalism today. Container ports have often been pushed to the edges of the urban spaces that they used to be centrally located in. “Ports” is a study on the city/sea-nexus, which will illuminate the dynamics behind the ways in which the center of our economic system is currently on the move east-wards. This is not a uni-linear shift from “the West” to “the Rest”, but rather, is brought into existence by the nature of the ever-changing interplay between local territorialization and global connectedness. “Ports” will therefore engage with local histories, unruly presents, and possible futures in four of the most important port-cities in the world: Singapore, Pusan (Korea), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Piraeus (Greece). Through comparative work at these sites, it will clarify the changing nature of work, the significance of “place” as a site of accumulation and resistance, and the role of infrastructure for the inner workings of ports.
The successful PhD applicant will form part of a larger research environment focused on the maritime industry, comprising at least seven researchers (3 of whom work on the related project “Life-Cycle of Container Ships” – see uio.no/containerships). Each researcher will carry out fieldwork and analyse material collected in one port city, and will engage in a shorter research stay in another. The PhD fellow will conduct 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Piraeus, with Rotterdam as a secondary site to visit for app. 3 months. The remaining time should be spent in residence in Oslo. An interest in the issues of labour, globalization and / or maritime anthropology is essential. Applicants must have native or near-native competence in English, and should have previous experience working in Greece. Language qualifications (i.e. knowledge of Greek) are an essential requirement, enthusiasm for group-work and comparison a must.
More about the position
The appointment is for the duration of three years; the contract may be extended by an additional year for the PhD candidate to be involved in teaching and other administrative tasks at the Department of Social Anthropology (depending on performance and availability of teaching duties).
The research fellow must take part in the Faculty’s approved PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.
The applicant must, in collaboration with her/his supervisor, within three months after employment, have worked out a complete project description to be attached to the application for admission to the doctoral program. For more information, please see our web site.
Qualification requirements
- Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent (120 ECTS) in social anthropology; degrees in related disciplines (e.g. human geography or qualitative sociology) can be considered. The minimum grade on the thesis should be B (ECTS grading scale) or equivalent. The Master’s degree must include a thesis of at least 30 ECTS.
- Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.
- Knowledge of Greek.
We offer
How to apply
The application must include
- Cover letter (statement of motivation and research interests, 1-2 pages)
- CV (including a complete list of education with grades, positions, pedagogical and administrative experience, publications and other qualifying activities)
- Project description and progress plan (maximum 4 pages) for the work to be undertaken during the course of the term of appointment
- A list of publications and academic work (if applicable)
- List of reference persons: 3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)
- Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system Jobbnorge, please follow the link “Send application”. International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).
When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the eventually “project description” and the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Applicants may be called in for an interview.
Formal regulations
Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.
No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.
According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.
The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.
Contact information
Send application
