Showing posts with label Contemporary. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

VACANCY: Postdoc Memory at War in contemporary Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian Literature

Postdoc Memory at War in contemporary Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian Literature

(212132)

Organisation

The Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture is one of the three official research institutes of the Faculty of Arts. Research at ICOG represents many periods and disciplines: history and theory of literature, film/TV, theatre, music, visual arts and architecture, research in artistic media and in history and theory of artistic policy-making and organisation, as well as journalism, political, socio-economic, cultural and intellectual history and international relations.
Research at ICOG is characterised by its interdisciplinary nature, which means that the research groups are organised in such a way as to encourage links - both synchronic and diachronic - between them. Within the ICOG there are three main research groups: Politics, Media and Nation-building, Cultures and Identity, and Society and the Arts.

Job description

This postdoc project applies and tests theories about the construction, representation and narrativization of traumatic histories in the context of the East-European memory of the Soviet imperial past(s). The project analyses the problematic assimilation and contamination of the memories of the imperial oppression, Soviet Terror, and the collapse of the Soviet Empire into collective narratives of self that are simultaneously coherent and disturbed. The working hypothesis is that literary texts in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine have played important but different roles in filling post-traumatic gaps and disseminating culturally shared memories. The description of these phenomena will benefit from critical analyses from the perspective of trauma theory. The one-year project will result in a series of publications in peer-reviewed journals in Slavonic studies and trauma studies.

The position is part of the research project "The Imperialism of Martyrdom: Suffering, Agency, and Memory in Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian Films and Novels", coordinated by dr Sander Brouwer of the Dept. of Slavic Languages and Cultures. It is part of the research project "Memory at War: Cultural Dynamics in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine", which has been made possible as a result of the award of a 2009 HERA JRP grant (Humanities in the European Research Area, Joint Research Program) in the category "Cultural Dynamics: Inheritance and Identity". The University of Cambridge is leading this project, it is furthermore accomplished in association with the Universities of Bergen, Helsinki, and Tartu.

Qualifications

PhD in Slavic Studies or History
competence in cultural trauma studies
active knowledge of at least one, and passive knowledge of at least two of the languages involved
excellent academic record (as shown by a list of examination marks); proven ability to plan and prioritize work and to work to and meet deadlines; strong commitment to excellence in research
ability to develop creative approaches to problem solving; creativity, curiosity, and ambition; proactive attitude; ability to implement new methods and ideas
excellent communication skills: effective paper writing skills (demonstrated by publications) and ample experience with delivering presentations
excellent command of the English language (oral and written).

Conditions of employment

The University of Groningen offers the postdoc a salary of € 3,088 (scale 10, step 6) gross per month for a full-time position. The position requires residence in Groningen. This position is defined according to the UFO function profile 'researcher'.

Employment basis: Temporary for specified period.
Duration of the contract: One year.
Maximum hours per week: 30-32 hours.
Starting date: as soon as possible.

Application deadline
You can apply for this job by sending your entire application in just 1 pdf-file + motivation letter in a separate file before 15 August 2012 by means of the application form. Incomplete dossiers will not be taken into consideration.

Please include
1. A letter of application
2. Your curriculum vitae
3. A list of publications
4. The names and e-mail addresses of two referees who are willing to provide letters of reference (upon request)
5. A short statement (no more than 1,000 words) about your motivation to apply for this project.

Information

For information you can contact:
Dr Sander Brouwer, +31 50 3636062, sander.brouwer@rug.nl

http://www.rug.nl/corporate/vacatures/jobOpportunitiesRUG

Sunday, 11 December 2011

Ph.D. fellowship: Society and Politics of Contemporary China

Ph.D. fellowship: Society and Politics of Contemporary China (11-247)

Faculty of Humanities

Institute for Area Studies

Ph.D. fellowship: Society and Politics of Contemporary China
(38 hours a week)
Vacancy number: 11-247

The Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), is committed to the integration of disciplinary and regional-historical perspectives. LIAS has as its aim the advancement of teaching and research of Area Studies at Leiden University and in the wider academic community. LIAS comprises the Schools of Asian Studies (SAS) and Middle Eastern Studies (SMES). Area specializations in SAS include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South & Southeast Asian and Tibetan Studies. LIAS staff have disciplinary expertise across the humanities and the social sciences.

Starting September 2012 (or earlier if the candidate is available) LIAS has available one full-time, four-year Ph.D. position in the University’s profile area “Asian Modernities and Traditions” (AMT) on an aspect of the society or politics of contemporary China. The fellowship is funded by the Leiden University Executive Board on the appointment of Professor Frank Pieke as Chair of Modern China Studies.

Description of profile area:

AMT is one of the 11 profile areas of Leiden University that transcend the boundaries between specialist fields. AMT is coordinated by the Faculty of Humanities and the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, but is fully interdisciplinary in focus. AMT’s aim is to raise the visibility and strength of Asian studies in the University, where “Asia” includes all of East, Central, South and Southeast Asia. AMT builds on the long history of Leiden University in research and teaching on Asian traditions, especially in the fields of religious studies, anthropology, philology, law and literature, to explore the debates, disagreements, disjunctures and conflicts that prevail in Asia in the modern age. The global prominence of East Asia and the rapidly developing economies of South and Southeast Asia render Asia a key case for the study of the fashioning of modernities in everyday life, state practices and the global arena. AMT focuses on five themes:

Asia in the international system looks at global Asia, where the emergence of India and China as regional hegemons is reconfiguring issues of security and conflict
Power and limits of the Asian state focuses on the transformation of and challenges posed to the state in Asia
Asian debates on history and modernity explores Asia’s role in shaping the meaning of rationalism, nationalism, secularism, equality, justice and rights
New and old diversities in Asia looks at how Asia’s new modernities are being forged from the meeting of peoples, cultures, life-styles and ideologies
Production and flow of modern Asian cultures encompasses the movement of practices, styles, objects, fashions, media and the like that have come to exemplify the modern in particular places

Tasks:

The Ph.D. fellow is expected to conduct research leading to a Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Professor Pieke on a topic that includes, but is not limited to, administrative reform, public policy, state-society relations, international or domestic migration, ethnicity, gender, kinship, ritual, religion, life styles, social structure and social stratification, consumption and popular culture, poverty and poverty alleviation. The project will have to be firmly embedded in a relevant discipline in the social sciences or humanities, such as anthropology, political science, sociology, history or sinology. Research ought to have a strong fieldwork component and should include the use of modern spoken and written Chinese.

Tasks of the Ph.D. will include:

Conducting original research on a relevant topic
Writing a Ph.D. dissertation
Submitting research results for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals
Presenting papers at (international) conferences
Designing and teaching at least two undergraduate courses, normally one in the third and one in the fourth year of the appointment
Organizing and participating in seminars and conferences of the AMT profile area

Requirements:

A Masters or equivalent degree in a relevant field
Research knowledge of modern Chinese
Fluency in English (spoken and written)
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team

We offer:

The position of Ph.D. fellow is temporary for maximally four years of full-time appointment, and with an initial nine-month probationary period. The salary is determined in accordance with the current scales as set out in the collective labor agreement for the Dutch universities (CAO): min. € 2.042,- max. € 2.612,- gross per month, with additional holiday and end-of-year bonuses.

Information:

For further information about the position please contact Professor Frank Pieke phone number +31-71-5272216 , email f.n.pieke@hum.leidenuniv.nl. A full overview of the AMT profile area is available athttp://www.research.leiden.edu/research-profiles/amt/.

Applications:

Applications have to be submitted in English and have to include:

cover letter stating your motivation for the position
research proposal of maximally 2,500 words
curriculum vitae
copies of your academic transcripts (or Dutch cijferlijst),
a writing sample (such as a part of the MA thesis) of maximally 8,000 words
three letters of reference to be sent directly by the referee

Please send your application electronically, indicating the vacancy number, before thedeadline of 15 January 2012 to:

vacatureslias@hum.leidenuniv.nl

All application materials should be send in pdf format.

An interview may be part of the selection procedure.

Publication date: November 21st, 2011

Introduction of the ‘European Blue Card’

As from 19 June 2011 the Netherlands has a new purpose of stay: the European Blue Card. The European Blue Card is a separate purpose of stay in addition to the existing National Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. The EU Blue Card Council Directive is intended for highly skilled foreign nationals who do not have EU, EEA or Swiss nationality, and who wish to work in one of the member states of the EU. The Directive is also meant to make it easier to settle in another EU member state. A residence permit will always be required in that other member state, however. To obtain this residence permit the employee must comply with the conditions applicable in that member state.

The conditions for residence in the Netherlands as an EU Blue Card holder are stricter than those for residence as a Highly Skilled Migrant. The employee must have a contract for highly qualified employment for at least one year, earning at least EUR 60,000 gross (in 2011). The employee must have completed a course of higher education lasting at least three years. The employee must prove this by having his diploma assessed by Nuffic. For a regulated profession, a competent authority will take decisions about the admission to that profession.

Advantages
One of the advantages of the EU Blue Card is that it is easier for an EU Blue Card holder and his family members to settle in another EU member state at a later date. After eighteen months foreign nationals who have an EU Blue Card are exempted from the provisional residence permit (MVV) requirement, if they want to work in another EU member State. In this second member state the employee must submit an application for a residence permit as a holder of an EU Blue Card. Each member state may implement the directive in slightly different ways. If someone holds a Blue Card in the Netherlands, this does not mean that the requirements are also met in other member states.

Another advantage is that after having stayed lawfully with the EU Blue Card holder in the Netherlands for two years, the family members may apply for a residence permit for ‘continued residence’. For other purposes of stay this is only possible after having stayed lawfully in the Netherlands for three years. The family members must have resided legally and continuously within the territory of an EU member state for at least five years, however. An employee who has stayed legally in the Netherlands as an EU Blue Card holder for two years may apply for the status of ‘long-term resident as a non-EU member country national’. He must have resided legally and continuously within EU territory for five years and must comply with the other conditions for this purpose of stay.

Highly skilled migrants from outside of the EU

A highly skilled migrant is a migrant who comes to the Netherlands to be employed, and has a gross annual income of at least €47,565, or €34,881 if he/she is under thirty. This income requirement does not apply if the employee enters service for certain functions in an educational or research institution. For information on the specific functions to which this clause applies, you can inquire at the IND office for labour and highly skilled migrants. When a foreign national has been granted residence in the Netherlands as a highly skilled migrant, the employer of the highly skilled migrant is not required to be in possession of a work permit for that foreign national.

Professional soccer players, ministers of religion, teachers of religion and prostitutes are not eligible for a residency as highly skilled migrant.

Important!
The amounts stated above will be indexed every year as of 1 January.