Job description

A Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Slavic studies is available at the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages, University of Oslo.

Applicants are invited to submit a project proposal for a doctoral dissertation related to the following research topic: figurative language and its role in crisis understanding and management. The successful applicant is expected to examine the role and impact of verbal or multimodal figurative devices in precarious situations experienced by individuals and societies; that is, in situations of individual or collective threats and crises (e.g., climate change, environmental issues, humanitarian issues, pandemics, and/or socioeconomic distress). The topics dealt with may include the role of figurative language in creating crisis narratives, its impact on individual or collective understanding of crisis situations and coping with them, its impact on emotions and individual and collective decisions on how to act, and the impact of figurative language on individual and collective acceptance or rejection of certain measures.

The successful applicant must develop and present an independent subproject that lies within the scope of the parameters above. He or she is expected to address the effect of figurative language on people’s emotions, actions, and behavior, focusing on one or a few figurative devices. The empirical material examined may be verbal, multimodal, visual, or a combination of these. A comparative perspective (with at least one Slavic language or culture included) and proposals combining research methods (e.g., a discourse-analytical approach with focus groups, surveys, or psychological experiments) are encouraged.

Preference will be given to candidates with experience in a relevant research field and with the planned research method(s).

The person appointed will be part of a research initiative under development at the department, which deals with the impact of figurative language on emotions, attitudes, and actions, and he or she will join a dynamic international group dealing with figurative language. Depending on the topic and approach of his or her project, the appointed person will be encouraged to join the research initiative Literature, Cognition and Emotions or another relevant research group at the department.

The project will be supervised by Professor Ljiljana Šarić.

The expected start date is 1 September 2021.

More about the position

The person appointed will be affiliated with the Faculty's organized research training. The academic work is to result in a doctoral thesis that will be defended at the Faculty with a view to obtaining the degree of PhD. The successful candidate is expected to join the existing research milieu or network and contribute to its development. Read more about the doctoral degree.

The appointment is for a duration of 3 years. All PhD Candidates who submit their doctoral dissertation for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3 years or 3 ½ years after the start of their PhD position, will be offered, respectively, a 12 or 6 month Completion Grant.

Qualification requirements

• A Master's degree or equivalent in Slavic studies, linguistics, semantics, pragmatics, semiotics, literature, or another relevant discipline. The Master's degree must have been obtained and the final evaluation must be available by the application deadline.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English, and sufficient skills in languages relevant to the proposed research
• Personal suitability and motivation for the position.

To be eligible for admission to the doctoral programmes at the University of Oslo, applicants must, as a minimum, have completed a five-year graduation course (Master’s degree or equivalent), including a Master’s thesis of at least 30 ECTS. In special cases, the Faculty may grant admission on the basis of a one-year Master course following an assessment of the study programme’s scope and quality.

Further qualifications

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on:

• The project's scientific merit, research-related relevance and innovation
• The applicant's estimated academic and personal ability to complete the project within the time frame
• The applicant's ability to complete research training
• Good collaboration skills and an ability to join interdisciplinary academic communities

Applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may be given preference.

We offer

• Salary NOK 482 200 – 526 000 per annum depending on qualifications
• A professionally stimulating working environment
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Attractive welfare benefits

How to apply

The application must include:

• Application letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (with a list of education, positions, teaching experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities, including a complete list of publications)
• Transcript of records of your Bachelor’s and Master's degrees. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system
• Project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (3 - 5 pages, see Template for project descriptions)

Please note that all documents must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Educational certificates, master theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

Formal regulations

See also regulations as well as guidelines for the application assessment process and appointments to research fellowships.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) § 25, Chapter 2, demographic information about the applicant may be used in the public list of applicants even if the applicant opts out from the entry in the public application list.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

• Professor Ljiljana Šarić (e-mail)
• Head of Administration Karina Kleiva (e-mail)
• HR Adviser Evian Nordstrand (for questions on electronic application)

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