Job description

Applications are invited for two 36 months positions, with the option of applying for an additional 12 months, as Postdoctoral Fellow (SKO 1352) of Social Anthropology to be based at the Department of Social Anthropology. The positions will be part of the research project “Shrinking the Planet: Psychotherapy and the New Global Middle Class”, led by professor Keir Martin, and funded by the Norwegian Research Council.

Our world is changing rapidly as the centres of economic and political power shift from Europe and North America to South and East Asia. The new middle classes of China and India will be the drivers of new patterns of consumer taste and culture over the next century. This is a planetary social revolution of historic importance. But how much do we know about these new groups that are coming into being and changing the shape of global society? What drives them and motivates them? What values and emotions move them and inform them? Shrinking the Planet attempts to provide an answer to this question through an in-depth exploration of one of the most significant and rapidly expanding ‘culture industries’ in countries with rapidly expanding new middle-classes; psychotherapy. In Russia, India and China, psychotherapy has gone from being marginalised or even illegal in recent years to being a mass culture industry involving hundreds of thousands of members of the new middle-classes. Through in-depth participant observation with trainee psychotherapists in these three countries the project aims to provide a snapshot of the emerging subjectivities of these new social groups that will shape global culture over the coming century. Three anthropologists will conduct fieldwork in each of the three countries in a psychotherapy training institute and with recently qualified therapists to construct a unique document of these world-views as they come into being.

Postdoctoral Fellow 1 (India)

Postdoctoral Fellow 1 will conduct 12 months of fieldwork in India. The remaining time should be spent in residence in Oslo. The ideal candidate for the job will have an understanding of psychotherapy and/or psychological anthropology and will come with previous research experience working in this field and relevant language qualifications.

Postdoctoral Fellow 2 (Russia)

Postdoctoral Fellow 2 will conduct 12 months of fieldwork in Russia. The remaining time should be spent in residence in Oslo. The ideal candidate for the job will have an understanding of psychotherapy and/or psychological anthropology and will come with previous research experience working in this field and relevant language qualifications.

More about the position

The Department wishes to recruit candidates with excellent research qualifications within Social Anthropology or a related discipline. The applicants’ proposed research should relate to one of the proposed positions (see below). The successful candidate is expected to strengthen this research area within the Department, and to contribute to and participate in other research activities at the Department as well.

The appointments are full-time positions for a period of 36 months, up to 10% of which can be devoted to administrative and teaching duties. Successful candidates may also apply to the Norwegian Research Council for an additional 12 months of funding to continue research at a foreign institution.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines.

Qualification requirements

Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in Social Anthropology, or a closely related discipline (e.g. psychology, human geography or qualitative sociology) and have experience of conducting ethnographic research. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Appointment is dependent on the public defense of the doctoral thesis being approved.

Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are a must, and preferably a good knowledge of a relevant language where fieldwork will be conducted.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the project description, as well as the applicant's academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. A good match between the candidate's proposal and the project’s planned activities and areas of focus is a main selection criterion, along with the quality of the proposal and the qualifications of the candidate.

We offer

• salary NOK 523 200-605 500 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
• a professionally stimulating working environment
• funds for research, travel, conference participation and dissemination, books and equipment
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

• cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• project description, including progress plan (max. 4 pages, excluding references), outlining the work to be undertaken during the course of the term of appointment
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
• a complete list of publications
• 3 pieces of academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered
• list of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Foreign 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).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, the project description (whenever this is required in the call for applicants), and the quality of the project as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability.

Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow 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 University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

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

Contact information

• Title: Professor Keir Martin (keir.martin@sai.uio.no)
• Title: Head of Department Rune Flikke (rune.flikke@sai.uio.no)
• Title: Head of Administration Nina Rundgren (nina.rundgren@sai.uio.no)

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