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Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Philosophy

Deadline 21.01.2019

Vision shapes language: Referential communication in blind, sighted and newly-sighted individuals.

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department embraces four disciplines: Philosophy, Classical Languages (Greek and Latin), History of Ideas and Art History. The Department is also responsible for the introductory philosophy courses, obligatory for all students attending study programmes at the University of Oslo. The Department has about 140 employees.

Flere stillinger fra Universitetet i Oslo

Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas

Job description

A Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1352) is available at the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo. The position is available for a period of two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension contingent on funding availability.

The Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and is associated with the FRIPRO project "Vision shapes language: Referential communication in blind, sighted and newly-sighted individuals" which is conducted in collaboration with Project Prakash. The candidate is expected to present a research project closely connected to the main project.

More about the position

The aim of the research project is to investigate the contribution of visual processes to verbal communication; in particular, the act of referring to the physical world around us. In order to investigate this question, the referential abilities of blind and sighted individuals will be studied separately as well as comparatively. The project will also investigate the referential abilities of a third and unique population, the Prakash children of India: newly-sighted children who were born blind and gained vision after they acquired language. Since language acquisition takes place either with or without vision, studying the communicative development of newly-sighted children will give us an extraordinary opportunity: to isolate the contribution of visual processes to the development of referential communication.

The Post-Doctoral Researcher will join the project in the second year with the aim of developing a model of referential communication and common ground on the basis of the behavioral studies conducted in the project.

This work will build on the ongoing collaboration between the two Co-PIs in the project, Dr. Paula Rubio-Fernández from the University of Oslo and Dr. Julian Jara-Ettinger from Yale University. Rubio- Fernández and Jara-Ettinger have started to investigate the role of visual processes in referential communication by building speaker and listener models in the probabilistic programming framework used by Jara-Ettinger and colleagues. If the grant for extending the fellowship is granted, the postdoc will visit Julian Jara-Ettinger’s lab at the Psychology Department in Yale University to continue working in collaboration with the two co-PIs, while honing their computational skills.

The position is available for a period of two years without teaching or administrative requirements, with the possibility of a one-year extension contingent on funding availability. Start date for the position: as soon as possible.

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

Qualification requirements

  • PhD or equivalent in Psychology, Cognitive Science or Linguistics with a specialization in language development and/or experimental pragmatics.
  • The candidate's research project must be closely connected to the main project
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
  • Familiarity with probabilistic models of cognitive development and communication/pragmatics.
  • Personal suitability and motivation for the position.

The Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the application deadline. Appointment is dependent on the public defence of the doctoral thesis being approved. Graduates with previous postdoctoral experience are also welcome to apply.

The following qualifications will count in the assessment of the applicants:

  • The project’s scientific merit, research-related relevance and innovation.
  • The applicant’s estimated academic and personal ability to carry out the project within the allotted time frame and to contribute to the main project.
  • The applicant’s level of experience at conducting experimental research on language development, pragmatics and/or social cognition.
  • Good co-operative skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic collaboration within and across disciplines.

We offer

How to apply

The application must include

  • Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • List of publications
  • Representative publication, ideally first author
  • Project description (approximately 3-5 pages). The project description must present a feasible progress plan. It is expected that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Applicants with education from a foreign university must 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 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.

Application deadline: 21 January 2019.

Formal regulations

See also Regulations concerning Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed as Postdoctoral Fellow for more than one specified period at the same institution.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) § 25, Chapter 2, 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.

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

For questions about the position:

For questions on how to apply:HR-Officer Julie Tøllefsen

Apply for position

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