1 Postdoc position: Life course perspectives on disability - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

Umeå University, Sweden, calls for one postdoc researcher to a cross-disciplinary disability project funded by the European Research Council. The position concerns a two-year employment (100%) focusing on disability of relevance to the project. Application deadline is 2018-04-12.

Description of the disability Project
The position is funded by a cross-disciplinary project led by Lotta Vikström that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovative programme, ”DISLIFE Liveable disabilities: Life courses and opportunity structures across time” (Consolidator Grant Agreement No. 647125).

The position concerns a two-year employment (100%) at the Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, starting from August 1, 2018, unless otherwise agreed. Affiliation with other research environments at Umeå University is possible depending on the scientific background of the candidate selected.

The DISLIFE project aims to clarify the diverse impacts disabilities have on people’s possibilities in life and society by investigating four research themes: (1) health and well-being; (2) education and work; (3) partner relationship and family; and (4) activities in leisure structures (e.g. culture, sports, social media). The DISLIFE project employs gendered life course perspectives and combines quantitative and qualitative methods uniting scholars from different disciplines who study past and present times.

For information about the DISLIFE project and its thematic research, see:

DISLIFE Website

DISLIFE Research Themes

Job description
The postdoc position focuses on disability research to contribute results of relevance to one or more of the four themes of the DISLIFE project. Some minor administrative tasks may be included in the employment. While constructing their application, candidates are expected to consult the DISLIFE project description (see websites above). Its cross-disciplinary profile means that the scientific background of the applicant and the research plan can be in any main field(s).

Qualifications and assessments
Qualified are candidates who have a doctor degree, or a foreign degree that is deemed equivalent, not more than three years before application deadline, unless there are special reasons (e.g. parental or sick leave). The doctor degree or other scientific merits must not be based on disability studies but be beneficial to the research the candidates propose and to the DISLIFE Project.

The major assessment is based on the candidates’ scientific merits and especially on the quality of the research plan. The research plan should be of high relevance to one or more of the four research themes of the DISLIFE project (see websites above). Some regard is paid to proposals addressing work and/or higher education issues (Theme 2 above). Further assessments of importance concern the candidate’s ability to work both independently and as member of a group, his/her oral and writing communication ability and willingness to contribute research that aspires to the highest levels of scholarly excellence.

Application
The application should provide the below documents in English or Swedish:

•  A letter of interest that states the candidate’s motivation for applying for the present position and his/her qualifications of special interest to the DISLIFE project (1-2 pp)
• Curriculum Vitae and validated copies of degree certificates (date of thesis defense and its title, current and previous positions, grants, awards, research collaborations)
• A full publication list with copies of 3-5 of the most relevant works, the thesis included
• A research plan that shows aims, methods and theories of the study and positions it in a research context and in relation to the DISLIFE project (5-7 pp)
• A list of 2-3 reference persons including their positions and contact details

The application must be registered in MyNetwork Pro, no later than April 12, 2018, see Umeå University’s website, Employment Opportunities.

Further information
The employment endures for two years (100%) starting from August 1, 2018, unless otherwise agreed. The candidates selected are required to be present in the environment to a high extent.

For more information about the employment, contact Professor Lotta Vikström (+46-90-7866266, lotta.vikstrom@umu.se), or Head of department, Jonas Nilsson (+46-90-7869990, jonas.nilsson@umu.se).

For information on the dept, see Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

We look forward to receiving your application!