Postdoctoral position in participatory digital media
Umea University, Sweden
Deadline for application : March 21, 2011
The Faculty of Humanities at Umeå University is
seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to be placed
at the Department of Culture and Media Studies.
The researcher will conduct studies relating to
the continuities between participatory culture
and civic engagement. As such, qualified
candidates should be aware of current research
trends in digital culture, new media, online
activism, web and citizen journalism, and fan
studies, and should be ready to apply that knowledge to case study research.
The media landscape of today is characterized by
active audiences that increasingly take control
over the flows of communication. Through social
media, new spaces for engagement and for the
creation of user-created content are formed.
Audiences now act back more and more upon the
content that is presented to them from
traditional institutions in politics, journalism
and culture. Hybrid media places become the
springboard for new forms of social movements as
well as more or less individualized expressions
that challenge the previously established
boundaries and cultural contracts of the public sphere.
The postdoctoral researcher will have earned an
advanced degree and should have conducted
previous qualitative research in one or more of
the above listed areas. Successful candidates
must be able to work independently and apply
knowledge of domestic and international
participatory cultures and civic action to the
development of innovative analyses and models of civic learning and identity.
The position will also be affiliated with the
Media Places research program at HUMlab (Umeå
University) and particularly to the research
theme Media Places as Hybrid Practice and
Representation. Within this theme, analyses are
carried out of how physical, digital and
symbolic properties of our lived experience come
together in rich media places, and how hybrid
practices and representations develop. The
research carried out by this post doc, in the
field of participatory media and activism, will
function as part of this wider framework, and
the post doc will also be able to gain from
collaboration and exchange with other researchers within the program.
Applicants must have taken their doctorate
within the last three years and not have already held a postdoctoral position.
For further information about the position,
please contact Professor Simon Lindgren,
<mailto:(simon.lindgren /at/ soc.umu.se)>(simon.lindgren /at/ soc.umu.se)<mailto:(simon.lindgren /at/ soc.umu.se)>,
phone number +46 90 786 95 19.
Union information is available from SACO,
+46-(0)90-786 53 65, SEKO, +46-(0)90-786 52 96 and ST, +46-(0)90-786 54 31.
Documents sent electronically should be in MS
Word or PDF format. Your complete application,
marked with reference number 315-150-11, should
be sent to
<mailto:(jobb /at/ umu.se)>(jobb /at/ umu.se)<mailto:(jobb /at/ umu.se)>
(state the reference number as subject) or to
the Registrar, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå,
Sweden to arrive March 21, 2011 at the latest.
We look forward to receiving your application!
simon.
professor simon lindgren
department of sociology
umeå university
<http://simonlindgren.com>http://simonlindgren.com
