Postdoctoral position in History of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen

The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites applications for a postdoctoral position in History of Philosophy from 1 January 2025. The position is a full time fixed term position for 36 months.

Introduction
The postdoc will contribute to the ERC-funded project “Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE). Changing the narratives of early modern philosophy and uncovering women’s contribution to Scandinavian gender equality” led by PI Sabrina Ebbersmeyer. The core of this project is to bring to light and critically assess women’s intellectual contribution to the Nordic Enlightenment by examining a text corpus consisting of unpublished material and published texts written by more than a hundred women in Scandinavia. The guiding hypothesis is that the Nordic way of women’s Enlightenment significantly differs from developments prevalent in other regions of Europe, and that women played a decisive role in creating a sustainable identification of the Nordic countries with gender equality.

The expert on the “scholarly sphere and intellectual equality” will investigate writings reflecting on women’s intellectual capacities (including reason, talent, and understanding) and defending women’s intellectual equality. The expert will also explore the development of various arguments, the philosophical traditions on which these arguments rely, and the argumentative strategies women used to counter traditional views about women’s intellectual deficiency.

Read more about the WHENCE project here:
Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE) – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

For further information about the position, please contact the PI of the project, Professor Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, e-mail: [email protected].

The postdoc will be affiliated with the newly established Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women in the History of Philosophy (INSPIRE) and with the internationally renowned Section for Philosophy, which is part of the Department of Communication. The department is home to approx. 80 faculty members, 40 PhD students, 20 postdocs, 40 part-time lecturers, 27 administrative staff, and 2200 students. The department annually generates approx. 30 million DKK in external research funding, and it produces research and scholarship that is world leading, and which sets the agenda for many national initiatives and conversations.

Read more about INSPIRE here:
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women in the History of Philosophy (INSPIRE) – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Read more about the Section of philosophy at Philosophy – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

This is a full-time research position. The successful applicant will be expected to engage actively in the WHENCE project, including project meetings, working with project partners, participating in international conferences, and publishing in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, as well as participating more broadly in the research environment at the University of Copenhagen. The successful applicant is also expected to participate in the collective research activities of the WHENCE project, including organizing conferences and workshops and the edition of a collective volume and a source book.

The successful candidate will be working in close cooperation with the PI and the other members of the WHENCE team.

Qualification requirements and assessment criteria
Employment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level in philosophy or in relevant related subjects, such as history, literature, or history of ideas.

All applicants are expected to be able to use English as the working language (written and spoken). Successful candidates will demonstrate a clear potential to deliver high quality peer-reviewed research publications.

Additionally, the applicants must have:

• expertise in history of philosophy and literature or history or history of ideas
• high proficiency in English and in Danish or Norwegian or Swedish

In the assessment it will be considered an advantage if the candidate has:

• familiarity with feminist history of philosophy or Scandinavian intellectual history
• expertise with editorial work and manuscripts and familiarity with early modern Scandinavian texts.

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 (www.ufm.dk)

Applicants will primarily be assessed in relation to their research qualifications, including their publications, ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations, and their experience of research management. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the overall project WHENCE as described above.

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 English and must include the following attachments:  

1.    Letter of motivation
2.    CV
3.    Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)
4.    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 of three publications. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered 1-3.

5.    Research plan Applications should include a project proposal addressing the research question: ‘What arguments did Danish-Norwegian and Swedish women intellectuals from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries present in favour of women's intellectual equality, and which philosophical traditions influenced their perspectives?'
The proposal should demonstrate the capacity to develop a postdoctoral project, identifying the relevant methodological tools to realise the outlined project.

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 at DKK 38,575 (approximately EUR 5,170) + 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 counselling 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: 211-1900/24-2I #1.

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, email: [email protected], phone +45 35328861.

The deadline for applications is 25 September 2024, at 23:59 (CEST).

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