Doctoral student in Economic History – Colonialism, living standards and inequality - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Assigned duties

Those appointed to doctoral studentship shall primarily devote themselves to their studies, aimed to result in a doctoral degree. Work carried out during the studentship consists of participation in research projects as well as successful participation in postgraduate (third-cycle) courses. Those appointed to doctoral studentships may also work, to a limited extent, with educational tasks and administration at the Department of Economic history. However, duties of this kind may not comprise of more than 20 percent of a full time post.

The PhD position is linked to the research project Colonialism and the socio-economic impact of the indigenous people: The case of Cape Colony, funded by Handelsbankens forskningsstiftelser. The PhD student will work in this project in collaboration with other project members.

Eligibility / Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if heor she has:

• Been awarded a second-cycle degree; or
• Satisfied the requirements for courses comprising of at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle; or
• Acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39)

Specific admission requirements for doctoral studies in each subject are specified in the relevant general syllabus, available at https://www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd

Other requirements

A proficient level of English is required in both written and oral communication.

Basis of assessment

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies, see the general syllabus for third-cycle studies, available at www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd.

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will primarily be assessed on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle.

Applicant’s general competence:

• Quality and content of previous written work, such as a Master’s thesis.
• Ability to participate actively in the Department’s research environment.
• Ability to perform independent scientific work.
• Basic statistical and econometric knowledge.
• Experience or interest in working with large individual-level databases.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication.
• Relevant educational background, for example in economic history, history, economics or geography.
• Other relevant experiences for third-cycle education, such as work experience.

We are interested in applicants with a strong commitment and interest in economic and social history of the global south, reading historical sources, quantitative analysis and working with large micro-level longitudinaldatabases.

Project

This research project is part of a larger research program. The aim of the program is to contribute to the large literature on colonialism and global inequality by – for the first time – using big data and machine learning techniques to analyze the roots and gradual development of a settler economy – the Cape Colony – its institutions and their impact on growth, inequality, and welfare over time and space. Our data and methods allow us to study gradual and complex changes of a settler economy at a level of detail never done before. The program is divided into four themes; i) inequality and social mobility, ii), slavery and labour coercion, iii) networks and elite formation and iv) economic development and living standards. The program currently employs 9 senior researchers and 3 post-docs from Sweden, Netherlands, South Africa and USA.

The aim of the project is to study the effects that colonial rule had on the indigenous Khoesan population. With help with micro-level tax censuses and wage records for the Khoesan population we are aiming to conduct longitudinal quantitative and qualitative studies of issues related to living standards,  inequality of ‘free’ Khoesan and Khoesan labourers as well as the use of coercion of Khoesan labourers. The findings will uniquely contribute to the debate on colonialism and its legacies for a colonized population.

Terms of employment

Fixed-term employment, maximum four years (fulltime studies).

Only those admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may beappointed to doctoral student.

For regulations concerning employment of doctoral students etc, see the Higher Education Ordinance,Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programs, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 34-41.

Application procedure

Please use Lund University job application portal when applying: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about/work-at-lund-university

The application must be written in English.

The application should contain:

• Personal letter in which the applicant gives a short description of him/herself and his/her research interests and its relevance for the project, maximum 3 pages.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Grade transcripts.
• Master thesis or similar degree projects.
• If appropriate, documented language skills relevant for third-cycle studies.
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.

The applicant is encouraged to name a maximum of two teachers or researchers who can give recommendation letters, but we do not consider recommendation letters with the application.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.