Postdoctoral position in 20th and 21st century literary history at the new Center of Excellence “TRANSITION – Changing Urban and Rural lives”, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

The new Center of Excellence TRANSITION – Changing Urban and Rural lives at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Copenhagen, invites applicants for a postdoctoral position in Danish literary histories of 20th and 21st century urban and rural transitions.

The position has a 30-month full time employment period starting 1 March 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The successful candidate will join TRANSITION – Center for Changing Urban and Rural Lives, which is a new Center of Excellence set to open on 1 February 1 2025. It is funded for up to 10 years by the Danish National Research Foundation and represents a collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen and the National Museum of Denmark. The center will be physically located at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, where the successful candidate will have their primary workspace and daily responsibilities. Additionally, workspaces at the National Museum will be made available for tasks related to archival research.

TRANSITION – Changing Urban and Rural lives
Worldwide, the transition from predominantly rural to urban-centric societies marks one of the most significant shifts in human history, with profound implications for culture, language, and individual identities. This shift has fostered a longstanding narrative of opposition between rural and urban life, influencing social cohesion, democracy, and sustainability. The aim of the center’s research is to uncover and understand the cultural history and people’s lived experiences during the 20th-century transition from agrarian societies to today’s post-industrial world. The research spans the entire period and explores, among other topics, life trajectories, experiences of living in new contexts, and rural and urban places in transition.

TRANSITION – Changing Urban and Rural lives is an interdisciplinary center that combines linguistic, literary, and historical scholarship on 20th and 21st century transitions focusing on the case of Denmark. Its research draws on extensive cultural-historical archives and collections, including the National Museum’s Ethnological Surveys (NEU), the Dialect Archive at NorS, and Danish literary history. These sources include autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, and life-story interview recordings. The successful candidate must utilize the data resources affiliated with the center in their research and must engage in and actively contribute to the center's interdisciplinary work, including participation in interdisciplinary data sessions and co-publications.

About the position
The successful postdoc candidate will undertake an independent research project, designed to fit the overall research agenda of the TRANSITION center. Applicants must enclose an outline of this project (see details below), which will be further developed in dialogue with the center’s core team. The outlined project should include suggestions for relevant research questions, theory, and methods.

The candidate is expected to work independently on a project dedicated to topics and narrations of rural and urban transitions in Danish literature. Modern Danish literature is a rich source of stories, experiences, and memories of transitions, of people moving between places as well as of people living in places undergoing large transformations. This may also include narrations of social mobility. As a specific focus, the TRANSITION center wants to examine how works of Danish literature have addressed topical issues such as the growing divide between urban centers and countryside and the social inequality linked to demography and the places people live. The detailed content of this subproject will be determined in consultation between the candidate and the leading researchers in the group. The postdoc will join the center in the first stage of its work and is therefore also expected to take an active part in the initial process of mapping and identifying relevant research topics and objects within the canon of 20th and 21st century literature.

Required qualifications
The successful candidate holds a PhD in Danish or Scandinavian literature and has a strong research profile and track record of publications. Candidates who can also document relevant theoretical expertise from the fields of cultural geography or place theory and/or experiences with interdisciplinary work will be prioritized.

Application
Applications must be submitted electronically, in PDF or Microsoft Word format, via the ‘Apply now’ button at the bottom of this page.

The application must include the following documents (in English):

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
   This letter should outline how the postdoc project relates to the TRANSITION center and describe your competencies and personal qualifications.
2. CV (max. two pages)
   The CV should contain details about educational background, language skills and other skills relevant for the position.
3. Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)
   Applicants with a degree from a university where the working language is not English, German or one of the Scandinavian languages must submit a translation of their diploma and/or diploma transcripts approved by the Danish embassy or consulate in the country where the original document was issued. These documents must be translated into English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. An official description of the grading scale (and a diploma supplement where relevant) must also be attached.
4. Postdoc project description (max. 12,000 characters, incl. spaces, excl. list of references)
   Applicants must include a detailed project description outlining:
   • the proposed research question(s)
   • state of the art
   • presentation and motivation of the theoretical framework
   • presentation and discussion of choice of methods and research design
   • a description of the project itself and how you see it fitting in with the larger research project and contributing substantially to it
   • a working plan for the project.
5. Complete list of publications (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 submit a maximum of three publications for assessment. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered [1–3]. Should any material submitted consist of work with named co-authors, or work that is otherwise the result of collective academic endeavors, the extent of the applicant’s contribution to the work must be clearly specified.
6. If applicable: Documentation of teaching experience at university level and other forms of knowledge dissemination. For inspiration, you may consult the guidelines for teaching portfolios at the University of Copenhagen here: Job application portfolio – University of Copenhagen.
7. Short statement (2.400 characters or less) about expected development as a researcher over the course of the position and future plans.

Only documentation in English, Danish, Swedish, or Norwegian will be assessed.

We reserve the right not to consider applications that fail to live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The recruitment process
After the deadline for applications has expired, applicants are shortlisted for assessment on the advice of an Appointment Committee. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not. An expert Assessment Committee is then appointed and tasked with carrying out an assessment of the shortlisted applicants. The shortlisted applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee.

Applicants will also be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

Upon completion of the assessments, a selection of qualified candidates will be invited for an interview.

Please be advised that a positive assessment does not necessarily mean that you will be invited for an interview.

For further information on the recruitment process, please see University of Copenhagen’s website: Recruitment process – 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). Depending on seniority, the monthly salary range for postdocs starts at DKK 38,500 (EUR approximately 5,100), plus 17.1 % pension scheme contribution.

Place of employment
The place of employment is The TRANSITION center at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen.

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.

Contact information
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, email: [email protected] - please refer to ID number: 211-1949/24-2I #1.

For specific questions about the postdoc position and TRANSITION, please contact the Center leader professor Pia Quist, email: [email protected] or phone: +4535328513.

Application deadline: 5 January 2025 23:59 (CET).

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.