One doctoral candidate in History or Political Science for research on the topic “The Baltic Sea Area and Its History in the Mediterranean Mind”

Venue: Södertörn University
Application deadline: March 16, 2014

The doctoral candidate will be employed within the research project “Spaces of Expectation: Mental Mapping and Historical Imagination in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Region”, a multi-disciplinary bilateral project based at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University in Stockholm and at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, with funding from the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies 2014–2018.

The project analyses the meaning attached to the Baltic and the Mediterranean in selected case studies, investigates the mental maps correlated to historical representation, compares the imagination of the two regions, and studies their entanglement. The aim is an improved understanding of how historical trajectories have been attached to two maritime areas that are critical to European integration. For further information on the project see (LINK).

The called for PhD project is expected to explore how the Baltic Sea area and its history have been described, analysed, and used in arguments in one or several Mediterranean countries. Possible sources are history books, travellers’ diaries, media, diplomatic papers, and literature. An additional or alternative approach could be investigating through private and public documents and literature the mental mappings of immigrant communities or ‘diasporas’. Other alternatives could be qualitative interviews and surveys in the quantitative mental mapping tradition. The research may focus on a specific period between the late 18th and the early 21st century, or investigate the whole period in a long-term perspective.
The candidate will collect and analyse research material and finish a dissertation thesis under the auspices of the project, a PhD being the intended outcome.

She/he has basic eligibility who:

Specific eligibility
The PhD candidate must have an advanced degree in a subject belonging to the study of history or to the study of political science, or equivalent. Fluent oral and written expression in English is a necessity. A good working capacity in one or several Mediterranean languages is expected. Click on the below links for information about admission regulations and third-cycle education in either the field of History or Political Science:

We ask that those wishing to apply for a position at Södertörn University use our web-based recruitment system. Click on the link "Ansök" (apply) at the bottom of the announcement. Applications must include:

Incomplete applications will not be processed. One copy of your application will be kept on file at Södertörn University for two years after the post has been filled, in accordance with a directive from the Swedish National Archives.

The successful applicant will be employed as a PhD candidate, a position that also includes a place in one of our post-graduate educational programmes. The total employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years full-time. Provisions for PhD candidate positions are stated in the Higher Education Ordinance (Högskoleförordningen), Chapter 5, §§ 1–7. The PhD candidate will be employed by the School of History and Contemporary Studies at Södertörn University. The workplace is at Södertörn University, 1 September 2014 being the aimed at first day of employment. The offered third cycle programme comprises 240 credits, the equivalent of four years of full-time study. A doctoral candidate’s working hours have to be dedicated to third-cycle studies; however, the position may entail other duties within education, research and/or administration, but these may be equivalent to no more than 20% of full-time employment.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Martin Wottle
e-mail: martin.wottle@sh.se
(For information about the School of History and Contemporary Studies)

Prof. Dr. Norbert Götz
e-mail: norbert.gotz@sh.se
(For more information about graduate education at Södertörn University and about the research project “Spaces of expectation”)

Calle Aaro
e-mail: calle.aaro@sh.se
(For employment matters or how to apply contact the Human Resources Officer, School of History and Contemporary Studies)