1 Postdoc in the research project “Early Citizen Science”

Published: 2021-01-14

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 45,000 students, more than 7,000 employees and a turnover of around SEK 7 billion.

The Department of History of Science and Ideas is a dynamic research environment with strong profiles in history of science, intellectual history and history of medicine. It is Sweden’s largest centre for study within this field and is internationally renowned for its research. There are currently over forty academics, researchers and visiting scholars attached to the Department, including 15 doctoral students. For more information visit: Department of History of Science and Ideas

The Department invites applications for 1 postdoctoral position linked to the research project Early Citizen Science: How the public used Linnaean instructions to collect the World c. 1750-1850, funded by Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation. We are searching for applicants with a Ph.D. degree and research interests of relevance for the study of history of science and colonial collecting. The employment is tied to the project and the successful candidate will plan and execute his/ her research in collaboration with the principal investigator, Dr Linda Andersson Burnett. 

Description of the research project: The purpose is to generate and communicate a new understanding of how science developed through engagement between universities, museums and the lay public in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The project focuses on the tradition of scientific instructions – in particular British instructions inspired by Linnaean natural history – and pursues three consecutive areas of investigation: Why and how were instructions created, and what were their mediums and arenas of circulation? Why did people from different social strata engage with instructions, and how did personal motivations and local conditions shape collecting practices? How did university and museum professionals and collectors interact, and how did collecting networks develop during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Examples of research directions include: Instructions composed or circulated by professors at English universities or learned societies, transnational or comparative studies of instructions, and the participation of Indigenous or enslaved knowledge actors in collecting networks. The goal of the project is to contribute both to the history of science and to contemporary debates about both colonial museum collections and citizen science.

For more information visit: https://www.idehist.uu.se/research/research-projects/early-citizen-science/.

Duties/Project description: Employment as a postdoctoral researcher involves a two year full-time post, pursuing research according to your proposed plan. Teaching and/ or administrative duties will be 20% of the full-time position.

Requirements: To qualify for an employment as a postdoctor you must have a PhD degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in the humanities or social sciences. The PhD degree must have been obtained no more than three years prior to the application deadline. The three year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

Applications may be submitted in either Swedish or English and should include:

• Curriculum Vitae, with a complete list of publications.
• A brief description (3–5 pages) of your intended research direction and why you consider yourself well-suited to this particular position.
• Certified copies of your degree certificates and grades.
• A maximum of 5 publications.
• Additional documents to support your application, including two referees.

Additional qualifications: Emphasis will primarily be placed upon academic merits in selecting candidates. Ranking will take place on the basis of the quality of the academic merits. Particular weight will be given to research completed within the field of history of science or global intellectual history.

Salary: Individual salary.
 
Starting date: 01-09-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to central collective agreement.

Scope of employment: 100 %.

For further information about the position please contact: Principal investigator, Dr Linda Andersson Burnett, tel. +46 (0)18-471 3541,  linda.andersson-burnett@idehist.uu.se; Head of Department Frans Lundgren, tel. +46 (0)18-471 1580, frans.lundgren@idehist.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 26 March 2021, UFV-PA 2020/4689.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

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Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.