Aarhus University Seeks Humanities Postdoctoral Researcher

The Danish School of Education (DPU), Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the research project “Research for impact. Integrating research and societal impact in the humanities PhD” financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The position is full-time (37 hours/week). It is expected to begin on 1 May 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter and to end 22 months later on 28 February 2023. The position is located at DPU, Campus Aarhus.

Research Context

The project studies the societal value and impact of doctoral education within the humanities across policy-making, institutional leadership, research environments and individual (current and former) doctoral students. Earlier research has mainly focused on only one of the levels at a time, whereby the mutual influence and entanglement of the levels has been underresearched. That the project researches across levels focusing on the interconnections means that a more comprehensive and complementary understanding of doctoral education within the humanities becomes possible. To develop the right theoretical and methodological approaches and designs for such a study will most certainly become one of the biggest challenges of the project. One of the main project aims is that the connection and cohesion between research and society become stronger and mutually fruitful, as well as ensuring a stronger mutual influence between universities, institutions of higher education, research environments and the surrounding society. Furthermore, the project aims to ensure that research within the humanities is initiated and integrated widely within the society as well as within institutions, organizations and companies, but is strongly anchored in universities, and that researcher education within the humanities will play a central part in that regard.

The Position

The postdoc will be part of the project team. The primary task of the postdoc will be to identify, collect and analyze policies on societal impact and the PhD (with a focus on the humanities PhD) across global, European, national (Denmark) and institutional levels. Also, the postdoc will conduct qualitative semi-structured research interviews (in English or Danish) with leaders of graduate schools at Danish universities. The postdoc will be the main driver of work package one (the project consists of three work packages) and will collaborate with the PI and co-investigators on the project (see the project website link below). Depending on the academic background of the applicant, there can be more emphasis on some research instruments than others (e.g. discourse analysis, analysis based on critical realism, qualitative research and analysis, text analysis, rhetorical analysis). The work package examines how policies around the societal impact of the humanities PhD travel and become translated across global, European, national and institutional contexts – and how leaders of graduate schools understand, develop and implement strategies within graduate schools and doctoral education accordingly.

To read more about the position and apply, visit the job posting.