PhD scholarship opportunity:

Exploring CONFINED LIVES as they intersect in Denmark and Lebanon

Aalborg University, Denmark, invites applications for a PhD position funded by the European Research Council. This position is part of a collaborative, comparative project on CONFINED LIVES. As a core member of a small team(with Tamirace Fakhoury, Jasmin Lilian Diab, Mette-Louise E. Johansen& Steffen Jensen) the successful applicant will explore various dimensions of confinement(camps, ghettos or prisons etc.) associated with migration and the maintenance of everyday family lives in Denmark and in Lebanon for people of Palestinian descent. The PhD research project will seek to align its focus with the candidate’s research interests and will be formulated in collaboration with the team.  It could focus on how young adults navigate experiences of confinement arising from kinship relations and informal economies, and how they navigate these intersections especially when it comes to reconciling them with the infringement of formal economies and their institutions(welfare and penal). Attention to the intersectional effects of gender and generation will be encouraged but applicants may suggest a lens through which they would like to approach the topic based on their specific expertise. We are particularly interested in a focus on experiences of confinement across sites in Denmark and Lebanon.

About the project

This PhD is part of a larger project that explores confinement and confined lives across four transnational sites(comprising also Myanmar-Thailand, Malawi-South Africa, and UK-Sierra Leone). The overarching project investigates confinement as both a restriction of freedom and a form of protection, highlighting its unequal distribution in contexts of urban marginality, displacement and incarceration. Family relationships and trans-country mobility serve as a common entry point to understanding confining dynamics and their effects across the four transnational sites.

Workplace

Copenhagen

Qualification requirements

The ideal candidate will have:

• A master’s degree in the social sciences or humanities.
• Intellectual curiosity and a commitment to conducting grounded, empirical, qualitative field research.
• The ability to navigate sensitive, politically charged research sites reflexively and critically.
• A commitment to a transdisciplinary approach to knowledge generation.
• Previous experience in migration studies with a focus on Palestinian migration and knowledge of kinship mapping and life-history interviewing(advantageous but not required).
• Near native English language skills
• Relevant language skills in Arabic and/or Danish(a combination of both will be advantageous but not required).

After successful application, the PhD project will be finalised in close collaboration with collaborators from the CONFINED research team and a Supervisor from Aalborg University. As a member of the broader research team the successful candidate will benefit from being an integral part of a small team and part of an international research community as well as the academic networks of team members.

The PhD scholarship has a duration of three years. Applicants to the PhD scholarship must hold a degree equivalent to a Danish Master’s degree. Applicants enrolled at a Danish Master programme who expect to graduate before the date of appointment must forward statement from thesis supervisor, verified transcripts, a copy of thesis contract and documentation for the date of their final exam.

Application requirements 

• letter of motivation
• project proposal(3-5 pages) related to the themes outlined above.
  • Please include:the conceptual lens you would like to employ(based on your expertise)
  • a methodology section and
  • a discussion of how you would divide fieldwork time between Denmark and Lebanon, based on the proposed research framework
• curriculum vitae
• diplomas confirming academic degrees(Master degree), including academic transcripts
• Documentation for English language skills(Applicants who do not have English as a first language or have completed an English language-based Master's programme(or an equivalent educational achievement in English) shall provide documentation that they have passed one of the following official tests with the respective minimum score: IELTS(band score):7 TOEFL(paper-based): 600, TOEFL(internet-based): 100. 
• Co-author statement. If publications that have been written in cooperation with others are submitted, a declaration from each of the authors must be enclosed. The declaration must state the extent of the applicant’s contribution to the total work and be signed by the authors
• Application for credit transfer if relevant.

Assessment

Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the deadline for application, the head of the department supported by the chair of the assessment committee will select candidates for assessment. All applicants will be informed whether they will be assessed or not.

The application can only be submitted by using the link on AAU’s job portal https://www.stillinger.aau.dk/(not at any other online job portals that may have reposted the position). Please note that zipped files are not supported by the recruitment system, please upload only Word or PDF files.

The Faculty draws your attention to the fact that the applicant's project description may be tested for plagiarism in the IT system iThenticate.

General information

It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at Doctoral School of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27 August 2013(PhD Order).

Please find information on admission requirements for PhD positions on the website of the Doctoral School.

Contact

You may obtain further information regarding the academic contents of the position from Professor Steffen Jensen, sje@dps.aau.dk

 If you have questions regarding the procedure of applying for the position, please contact Lene Møller, lml@adm.aau.dk

Wages and employment

Ref number

12-64065

Deadline

01.12.2024