Postdoc Position in the Historical Sociology of Moral Elites

The Department of Business Humanities and Law at Copenhagen Business School invites applications for a vacant Postdoc position in the historical sociology of moral elites. The starting date is expected to be 1 June 2025, or as agreed upon consultation.

The postdoc position is a non-tenured full-time position of 1 or 2 years, including 3 – 6 months of teaching obligations. The research will be conducted as part of the European Research Council Starting Grant project ‘Moral Elites: The Historical Positioning of Civil Society Leaders in National Moral Economies’ (MORALITES). The project team will consist of one PhD, three postdocs, and the PI.

The central objectives of the overall project are 1) to theorize the concepts of moral elites and moral economies to capture the role of civil society elites in influencing the ideational basis of society, 2) to explain how the positions and position-takings of civil society elites have shaped the historical trajectory of moral economies, and 3) to compare the influence of civil society elites in different national moral economies.

The project will analyse the historical positioning of civil society leaders by applying methods such as 1) Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Social Network Analysis on biographical and career data, and 2) NLP Topic Modelling to analyse textual data.

The project is divided into five work packages focusing on four country cases: 1) Italy, 2) Denmark, 3) Poland, 4) the UK, and 5) a methods and analysis work package. The post doc position is attached to the UK work package and will be concerned with collecting and analyzing data across work packages.

The research conducted will be team based and oriented towards delivering on the project objectives. Taking the project framework into consideration, applicants are required to outline their reflections on how to study the historical positions and position-takings of civil society leaders.

Candidates are expected to have previous experience working in ERC projects and have conducted research within civil society and elite studies. Knowledge of historical social science is an advantage but not a requirement.

For more information about the position, please contact PI of the project Associate Professor Anders Sevelsted ([email protected]).

Research environment
The Department of Business Humanities and Law is dedicated to an integrated approach to the contemporary challenges facing business and society drawing on the humanities, interdisciplinary social sciences, and law. It emphasizes problem-oriented research to understand those challenges and to build the lifelong capabilities necessary to address them. Faculty within the Department of Business Humanities and Law have diverse research backgrounds and research foci including but not limited to leadership, entrepreneurship, ethics, strategy, law, politics, sociology, philosophy, history, anthropology, diversity, equity and inclusion, and leisure management. What unites faculty is an overriding concern for the organization of the human within its multiple environments and, by implication, a research interest in the interdisciplinary “conversation” between humanities and social sciences.

Within the Department of Business Humanities and Law, the position will be located in the Governance, Culture and Learning Unit, an interdisciplinary research environment connecting governance studies at all levels of global society.

Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have completed a PhD in sociology or political science. The candidate will be committed to an academic career, have the capabilities to conduct internationally recognized research and be able to communicate findings clearly.
The assessment of the candidate will be based primarily on the following qualifications:

• Excellent academic track record
• Research within civil society and elite studies
• Enthusiasm for empirical interdisciplinary research
• Experience with working in ERC research projects and the ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
• Excellent organizational and communication skills (both oral and written); proficiency in English is required
• Ability to engage with others in a way that reflects our collective commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion.

Application procedure
All applications must be sent via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below. The application must include:

• Cover letter describing the motivations to apply and fit with the research and teaching environment at CBS and BHL.
• A full CV and transcripts.
• A complete, numbered list of publications (indicating titles, co-authors, page numbers and year) with an * marking of the academic productions to be considered during the review. A maximum of 5 publications for review are allowed. Applicants are requested to prioritise their publications in relation to the field of this job advertisement.
• Copies of the publications marked with an *. Only publications written in English (or another specified principal language, according to research tradition) or one of the Scandinavian languages will be taken into consideration.
• Documentation of relevant, significant, original research at an international level.
• Any relevant information indicating experience in research management, industry cooperation and international collaborations.
• Documentation of pedagogical qualifications or related material.

Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee will shortlist a minimum of two applicants. If possible, five or more applicants will be shortlisted. The shortlisted applicants will be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline. The applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and later in the process about the result of the assessment. An appointment committee will invite a selection of qualified candidates to an interview. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Appointment
Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organization. Information about CBS as a workplace is available at www.cbs.dk/en/about-cbs/jobs-cbs.

For further information, please contact: PI of the project Associate Professor Anders Sevelsted, email: [email protected], or Head of Department Professor Mitchell Dean, e-mail [email protected]. Information about the department may be found at www.cbs.dk/bhl. Information about Copenhagen Business School is available at https://www.cbs.dk.

Closing date: 15 February 2025

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.

Copenhagen Business School invites all qualified candidates to apply for the position.

One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.

Apply online

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