The Research Training Group Minor Cosmopolitanisms (Graduiertenkolleg GRK 2130), funded by the German Research Council (DFG) and conducted jointly by Universität Potsdam, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, announces 12 Positions starting on October 1st 2016:
Academic Staff Member (m/f) (PhD Researchers)
Requisition No.: 112/2016
for 26 hours of work per week (65 %). The salary is determined by the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13 Ost). These are temporary positions limited to a term of three years in accordance with Section 2 Para 1 of the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Law (WissZeitVG).
The Research Training Group (RTG) Minor Cosmopolitanisms wishes to establish new ways of studying and understanding the cosmopolitan project against and beyond its Eurocentric legacies. It attempts to overcome a divide that characterises cosmopolitan thought between ‘major’ sociological and philosophical readings of cosmopolitanism as either ‘actually existing’ or as a normative ideal. The RTG straddles both perspectives by investigating cosmopolitanisms as emerging in a transversal plurality of locally embedded representational and performative practices. The minor denotes a perspective crucially informed by post- and decolonial thought and builds on interpretations of cosmopolitan practice which have been variably qualified as “agonistic,” “black,” “creole, “decolonial,” “discrepant,” “indigenous,” “rooted,” “subaltern” or “vernacular.” They bring into being cosmopolitanisms in a ‘minor’ mode unforeseen by dominant scripts and creating new subject positions within dominant discourses and geopolitics.
Research projects will be clustered around five core thematic areas of training. These are minor cosmopolitan theory, justice, bodies, memory and indigeneity (see www.uni-potsdam.de/minorcosmopolitanisms for a detailed description). For each thematic field, projects should deal with theoretical approaches, literature and other media of artistic production, and/or everyday practices in which minor cosmopolitanisms are acted out.
RTGs are established by universities to promote researchers in the early stages of their academic careers. Their key emphasis is on the qualification of doctoral researchers within the framework of a focused research programme and a structured training strategy.
The RTG locates Potsdam and Berlin at the crossroads of eight partner institutions on four different continents (Macquarie University Sydney, UNSW Sydney, Delhi University, EFLU Hyderabad, University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, York University Toronto and Duke University, Durham). Successful applicants will receive an employment contract for the period of three years with one of the participating universities in the Potsdam/Berlin area and will be admitted as PhD students at the same university. They are encouraged to spend two semesters (9 months) at one of the partner institutions during the second year of their contract.
Candidates are invited to apply by proposing their own dissertation project within the thematic scope of the project. Applicants must have completed an M.A. degree or equivalent in one of the disciplines represented in the RTG (literary studies, cultural studies, cultural anthropology, sociology, history, Jewish studies) or in a related academic field (e.g., post- and decolonial studies, gender/queer studies, critical Europeanisation studies, border studies). A high level of proficiency in English is required. The project’s working language is English.
Candidates are expected to take up residence in the Potsdam/Berlin area and to take an active part in the activities of the Research Training Group.
The majority of working hours will be reserved for the successful completion of a PhD within a period of three years. The RTG strives for a balanced gender ratio in all occupational groups; therefore women are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification. The RTG specifically encourages applications by international candidates, especially from the global South.
Applications must be submitted by May 15th, 2016. Submission via the online application tool provided on the website www.uni-potsdam.de/minorcosmopolitanisms is highly recommended. Please consult the website for information on the project and for details of the application process. For further inquiries contact the RTG’s coordination office (minor-cosmopolitanisms@uni-potsdam.de).
In the case of submission by post applicants are required to include a self-addressed stamped envelope to facilitate the return of their documents.