Postdoctoral Fellowship in Frontier Ecologies at University of Aarhus

The Department of Anthropology, School of Culture and Society, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University invites applications for a 24-month postdoctoral position. The appointment begins on October 1, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Place of employment: Aarhus University, Department of Anthropology, School of Culture and Society, Moesgård, Moesgård Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark

The university is keen for its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their personal background.

About the research project 

The position is affiliated with the AUFF NOVA research project “Settler Colonial Beasts” headed by Associate professor Michael Eilenberg, Aarhus University and Associate Professor Jason Cons, University of Texas.  The research project study the history and present roles of feral animals in forming frontiers. Frontiers continue to be critical material and discursive formations that structure the relations of extraction, migration, domesticity, and race. Drawing loosely on assemblage theory we argue that to understand frontiers—their spatio-temporal dimensions, the diverse imaginaries that shape their production, the particular forms of extraction that unfold within them—it is necessary to broaden our optics to think through the more-than-human, more-than-economic, and more-than-material dynamics of frontierization. Thus, while classical articulations of resources frontiers might see the formation of animal resource frontiers, primarily, as the appropriation of value through the exploitation of cheap nature we argue that the animals themselves need to be centered as an active agent in ongoing frontier production. 

Qualifications

Eligible applicants for this position must hold a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications in Anthropology, Geography, Development Studies, Political Ecology, area studies or related disciplines.

The successful applicant must document:

• Extensive empirical research, including prior ethnographic fieldwork in the country proposed for the research.
• An international research profile as well as an excellent research quality.
• The ability to work independently and in collaboration within a research group.
• Excellent English skills, with additional languages being an advantage.

Moreover, the appointed Postdoc is expected to:

• Conduct three months of independent fieldwork in the country proposed for the research, within the framework of the AUFF NOVA project.
• Co-author and publish research results together with the other project members
• Contribute to the organization of research workshops at Aarhus University.
• Convey the research questions and results to a wider audience in text and other formats.
• Contribute to existing research groups at the Department of Anthropology.

Applicants must submit a CV (maximum 2 pages) and a concise description of their proposed research project (up to 4 double-spaced A4 pages). The research plan must sketch out methodology and demonstrate how the applicant will work with the conceptual framework of the “Settler Colonial Beast” research project in a country of the applicant’s choice. The completion of the project should be feasible within the time frame of the position. The plan should be attached as an appendix to the letter of application.