Postdoctoral Fellowshipship in the History of Knowledge - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Lund University invites applications for a Two-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship in the History of Knowledge at the Department of History.

Ref. no: PA 2017/1818

Starting date: 1 January 2018

For information on the post please contact Head of Department Henrik Rosengren (tel. +46 46 222 79 18, email henrik.rosengren@hist.lu.se), Svante Norrhem (+46 46 222 41 92, email svante.norrhem@hist.lu.se) or Johan Östling (+46 46 222 79 63, email johan.ostling@hist.lu.se).

For information on the terms of employment and salary please contact human resources manager Lena Kandefelt (tel. +46 46 222 72 24, email lena.kandefelt@kansliht.lu.se).

The Department of History consists of the divisions of history and human rights studies. The research in the subject of history is marked by perspectives of cultural history and cultural analysis deriving from different theoretical traditions. The department has a thoroughly developed PhD programme and hosts the national graduate school in history. The department is now looking for a postdoctoral research fellow in the history of knowledge to be based at the division of history.

Historians have a long-standing interest in knowledge, but it is only in the 21st century that the history of knowledge has emerged as a research field in its own right. The distinctive aspects of this new specialisation are analyses of the place of knowledge in history and the systems and societal context it has been part of. Theoretically and methodologically, studies in the history of knowledge tend to be inspired by new forms of cultural history, media history or the history of science. The history of knowledge research environment at the Department of History covers the early modern period as well as modern/contemporary history. We welcome all applications regardless of period or geographical focus.

 The successful candidate is primarily to conduct research but is also to help develop the history of knowledge research environment. Among suitable activities are to organise workshops, manage seminar activities, help draft research applications, select seminar texts, review other researchers’ texts, and invite and communicate with guests to the environment. Tasks such as these require the postdoctoral fellow to be a consistent and frequent presence in the department environment. The history of knowledge research environment will provide the successful candidate with opportunities to present his or her texts to an interested audience, establish contacts through our international networks and guests, and represent and work with a large group of researchers. The duties may include teaching. Altogether, teaching and research administration is to amount to a maximum of 20 % of the post.

As part of his or her research, the successful candidate is to participate in and contribute to the research environment, for example by active participation in the research seminars and other research-related activities in the subject. He or she is expected to conduct the bulk of his or her research at the workplace in Lund.

Qualifications: the candidate must have been awarded a PhD or an international degree deemed equivalent not more than three years before the application deadline. Candidates who completed a PhD over three years ago must provide certificates of parental leave, illness or similar reasons for leave in the application. Applicants with a first language other than a Scandinavian language must be able to document advanced proficiency in English.

The PhD degree must be in the subject of history or a subject specialising in history.

Special qualifications are previous experience of contributing to or developing research and research environments, for example by organising workshops or conferences, or developing international collaboration in other forms.

The grounds for assessment are a good ability to develop and conduct high-quality research, and teaching skills. The main criterion for assessment for a postdoctoral fellowship is research expertise. In all other respects, the assessment will be based on the requirements specified for the post. As documentation for the assessment of qualifications, applicants are to submit a project plan of the research they intend to carry out during their appointment.  

The application must include

- a complete and signed CV and a certified copy of the PhD degree transcript

- a list of publications (including ISBN and ISSN numbers)

- a signed project plan of no more than 1500 words (not including list of references) of the research project the candidate intends to pursue during the fellowship.

The project plan is to have the following headings:

• Description of the project (issue and summary)

• Theory and method

• Relationship to the international forefront of research in the subject

• The most important international research in the area

• The applicant’s expertise and qualifications for the project

• Timetable and publication form for the project

• An account of how the candidate will help develop the history of knowledge research environment at the department 

NB! The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions above, that all documents are scanned (as a single PDF file) and that the file has reached the University through the e-recruitment portal MyNetwork no later than the application deadline.