The Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, NorS, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH) invites applications for a postdoc in ‘Identification and Educability at School’ from 1 November 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter
The position is a fixed term position for 22 months.
The position is connected to the collective research project EDUCABLE: Educational Socialisation in Contemporary Digitalised Societies, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark and directed by Professor Lian Malai Madsen.
Job content The postdoc will be expected to conduct fieldwork in collaboration with other project members for 12 weeks + two periods of two weeks in two 9th grade classes in a Danish school and be responsible for a study based on this fieldwork focused on which identifications are enacted and ascribed among students and teachers through social category labels and their associated practices (linguistic, behavioural, interactional) in everyday school life. The study will illuminate which attitudes and alignments to different categories they construct through their practices and their reflexive comments and how the identifications relate to educational orientations and ideas of educability.
The postdoc is required to be able to work independently as well as engage actively in and contribute to the research team and the collective project, which investigates young people’s engagement in digital communities alongside their everyday practice at school and their reflections on educational influences and experiences. The project seeks to answer the overall questions: How is educability constructed and enacted in everyday school life and digital encounters?
How do students reflect on their educational path and future aspirations? And which cultural models of educability can we identify across these domains to illuminate the challenges and refine our theorisation of contemporary mass education systems?
The postdoc position involves contributing to the publication of at least two international articles, participating in a number of seminars and conferences at the University of Copenhagen and abroad as well as a 2 week’s research stay at a European university with one of the project’s international collaborators.
Qualification requirements and assessment criteria Employment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at the PhD level.
More information on careers at UCPH and the requirement for the different academic positions is available on:
Career at The University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk) For more about postdoc positions and qualification requirements, see the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities:
Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (ufm.dk)
The successful applicant must hold a PhD degree in a field related to ethnographic and interactional sociolinguistics. Applicants whose PhD thesis has been accepted for defence can apply but cannot take up the position before the degree has been awarded.
The preferred candidate should document an excellent track record of relevant research. Experience with ethnographic fieldwork, interactional and linguistic analysis will be decisive criteria of selection for the post as well as experience with research on identity practices. Fluency in Danish language is required for conducting fieldwork and analysis of data.
Applicants will primarily be assessed in relation to their research qualifications, including their publications, ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the overall project described above.
As teaching can be expected up to 20% documented teaching experience can be included in the overall assessment.
Application Applications must be submitted online in PDF or Word format. Click on the “Apply now” button at the bottom of this advertisement to apply
Applications may be written in a Scandinavian language or English and must include the following attachments:
- Letter of motivation
- CV
- Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)
- Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:
- Peer-reviewed publications:
- Monographs and anthologies
- Articles in journals
- Book chapters/anthology contributions, etc.
- Non-peer-reviewed publications:
- Publications disseminating research findings, etc.
Applicants can attach a maximum o 5 publications. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered 1-5.
- Research plan.
- Documentation of teaching competencies/teaching portfolio (see the UCPH guidelines for teaching portfolios here) and other work on the dissemination of research.
Only documentation in Danish, English, Swedish and Norwegian will be assessed.
Applicants are invited to familiarize themselves with the faculty’s strategic landmarks here;
Strategic landmarks – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk) Salary and terms of employment Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts for a Postdoc at DKK 38,500 (EUR 5,150) + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.
The recruitment process Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Head of Department will consider advice from the appointment committee and select applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Head of Department will then set up an expert assessment committee to consider the applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. They will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here:
Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk) An Equal Opportunity Workplace The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see
HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk) International applicant? The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counseling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here:
For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk) Contact information Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, email:
[email protected] , please refer to ID number: 211-1876/24-2I #1
The deadline for applications is 23:59 CET on 14 August 2024. Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.