Postdoc in Digital Counterpublics and Echo Chambers

The Department of Communication and Arts (DCA) at Roskilde University is inviting applications for a postdoc position in Digital Counterpublics and Echo Chambers. The position has a duration of 24 months, and the successful applicant is expected to start February 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Department of Communication and Arts
The Postdoc’s daily workplace will be the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University. DCA covers RUC’s Communication programs (Communication, Journalism, and Performance Design) and Art programs (Danish, Philosophy, History, and Cultural Encounters). We conduct excellent, interdisciplinary research in the intersection between Communication, Cultural Studies, Social Science, and Humanities, and offer an innovative and interdisciplinary university environment, marked by diversity with respect to theory, method, and area of study in research and education. Our research is characterized by double impact, i.e. by the highest academic quality, and by a direct interaction with public, private and civil actors in society. We have strong research networks and partnerships with local, regional, national, and international partners with the goal of ensuring the highest quality in all our research-based activities.

At DCA, the successful candidate will be connected to the section Technology and Publics, as well as the research group Digital Publics and Trust (DOT), Centre for Digital Citizenship, and Digital Media Lab.

The position

The postdoc position is part of the research projects Alternative Media and Ideological Counterpublics (AlterPublics), funded by the Carlsberg Foundation, and #Echopol – Modelling polarization dynamics on Danish social media, funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark. The postdoc will contribute to these projects independently but will be able to profit from a high level of theoretical and methodological synergy between the two projects.

The AlterPublics project investigates the formation of digital ideological counterpublics by empirically mapping alternative news sharing environments on social media in four European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria). The #Echopol project aims to investigate the formation of digital echo chambers and related polarization dynamics in a Danish context. The use and development of computational methods, including large-scale social network analysis, natural language processing and agent-based modelling, is a defining feature for both projects. In AlterPublics, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop and conduct a sub-study that builds on the project’s existing large-scale social media data set. In #Echopol, the successful candidate will contribute to the development of agent-based models (ABM) with particular focus on the analysis of social media data used for the external validation of ABM.

The postdoc will work in close collaboration with the PI, Associate Professor Eva Mayerhöffer and #Echopol Co-PI Jens Ulrik Hansen.

The postdoc position includes some teaching duties, as well as tasks related to the section and research group.
The successful candidate can apply for a 1-year teaching position as extension to the postdoc position to obtain further pedagogical training and gain teaching and supervision qualifications. The extension is subject to the teaching demand at the department.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a PhD or the equivalent thereof within media and communication studies, social data science, or an adjacent field in the humanities, social sciences, or data sciences.

The ideal candidate is furthermore expected to demonstrate:

• Experience or documented interest in digital and computational methods and analysis of digital trace data
• Experience or documented interest in automated text analysis and natural language processing (NLP)
• Previous experience or documented interest in agent-based modelling is considered an asset, but not a requirement.
• Very good command of oral and written English and experience in publishing in English.
• Good command of Danish or another Scandinavian language is considered an asset.

The ideal candidate shall be enterprising and possess good communication skills, be visible, and involved in the department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration across the DCA.

Further, fluency in English is necessary and experience in academic publishing in English is considered an asset. Good command of Danish is considered an asset.

Responsibilities and tasks

The candidate is expected to:

• Be an active collaborative partner in the research projects.
• Conduct and complete independent research in collaboration with the group.
• Publish independently and in collaboration with the PIs and the group in relevant peer reviewed journals.
• Participate and present research findings at relevant international conferences.
• Co-organize and participate in project-related seminars, network meetings and research workshops
• Contribute to popular dissemination of research findings and stakeholder activities
• Be an active and present colleague.

Assessment
In the assessment of candidates, consideration will be given to:

• scientific production and research prospective (including an individual research plan (max 3 pages) based in the two projects to be submitted with the application)
• the ability to promote and utilize research results
• ability to collaborate closely with research partners
• ability to contribute to the development of the department’s internal and external cooperation

We expect job interviews to be held in week 50-51, 2024.

Questions

For further information about the postdoc position, and to obtain a full academic description of the projects, please

contact PI Eva Mayerhöffer ([email protected]).

Terms of employment

The employment is full time, 37 hours per week, and refers to Section Chair, Ib T. Gulbrandsen.

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure

After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application

To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/

Only applications in English are accepted.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter

2. CV

3. Documentation of education

4. Teaching portfolio (read more about teaching portfolio at Roskilde University here)

5. A complete list of publications

6. A maximum of 5 relevant scientific works that you want included in the assessment

If any of the publications that you want included in the assessment are the result of a joint effort, the extent and the nature of your contribution to each individual work must then be clarified in a co-author statement (find template here)

Please submit your application no later than 25-10-2024.

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.