Post-doc (M/F)

CNRS; France; Sur place; EUR 35 000 - 55 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

CNRS, Centre for Research on the Arts and Language (CRAL), seeks a First Stage Researcher to develop theoretical frameworks on how environmental sensibilities evolve. The role includes teaching and contributing to the Institut Transform’s research platform, in an interdisciplinary setting involving arts, science and society.

Reports to Frédérique Aït-Touati and works within a cross-disciplinary team. The project focuses on social epistemology of knowledge, history of habitability, and the

Qualifications

• Experience with the theoretical debates on sensibilities in social/environmental history.
• Knowledge of social history, environmental history, and history of mentalities.
• Ability to work in inter- and transdisciplinary contexts.
• Experience in empirical research (fieldwork, case studies, interviews) would be an advantage.

Responsabilités

• Contribute to Institut Transform development within Targeted Project 1.
• Develop theoretical/conceptual framework for describing evolving environmental sensibilities.
• Lead teaching and training activities within the institute.
• Foster dialogue between theoretical frameworks and diverse scientific communities.

Connaissances

Social epistemology

Environmental history

Interdisciplinary research

Eco-sociology

Interdisciplinary coordination

Fieldwork & interviews

Formation

PhD in Philosophy (epistemology of humanities & social sciences)

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Centre de recherche sur les arts et le langage Research Field Philosophy Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 15 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The PEPR TRANSFORM programme (CNRS, IRD), funded by France 2030, aims to contribute, through transformational research, to reversing current trends that are undermining human well-being and the living conditions of all living beings on Earth. To this end, the programme aims (i) to advance our understanding of the biophysical and social conditions of habitability, (ii) to strengthen the co-construction of knowledge between researchers and local stakeholders, with a view to transforming towards greater sustainability and habitability; and (iii) to explore the issue of interactions across scales – from the micro to the macro – in order to create the conditions for conducting socio-ecological experiments and to draw lessons based on their diversity, thereby giving the transformation a systemic character.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of the Institut Transform as part of Targeted Project 1. They will undertake theoretical research aimed at studying the role of changing perceptions and emotions in environmental history, with a particular focus on the socio-technical mechanisms that mediate them. The aim will be to develop, in close conjunction with interdisciplinary literature and empirical case studies, a theoretical and conceptual framework for describing and analysing how 'sensibilities' towards the environment evolve. Particular attention will be paid to the various subjective dimensions involved (epistemic, sensory, conative), as well as to their specific socio-political impact.
It will also run a teaching and training programme within the Institut Transform. This collaborative platform will aim to organise spaces for dialogue between the various theoretical frameworks and scientific communities within the transformative sciences, to foster links with non-academic stakeholders (artists, managers, elected representatives, associations, local communities), and to explore and experiment with different forms of action research.

• contribute to the scientific debate by developing an approach based on the social epistemology and/or political ecology of knowledge concerning habitability, with a particular focus on the interplay between social history, environmental history and the history of mentalities.
• Contribute to the scientific debate by analysing the specific nature of the sensory dimensions relating to environmental knowledge and their links with other dimensions of experience (division of labour, technical lineage).
• contribute to the objectives of the PEPR by exploring the contributions of the epistemology of the humanities and social sciences to the sciences of transformation.
• contribute to the dissemination, within the PEPR, of a common vocabulary for analysing the social structuring of experience and the main levers for action proposed by such a theory.

The researcher will be based at the Centre for Research on the Arts and Language (CRAL – UMR 8566 CNRS / EHESS), a joint research unit dedicated to the arts, creative processes and forms, as well as the languages used to describe them, with a view to reflecting on the role of the sensory in society. Bringing together literary scholars, art historians, philosophers, musicologists, anthropologists and sociologists, the CRAL adopts an interdisciplinary and cross-artistic approach to creation and perception. In particular, the successful candidate will contribute to the research themes 'Environmental Humanities, Maps of Life, Planetary Art' and 'Knowledge through the Sensory', at the intersection of which lies this work on the evolution of environmental sensibilities and the mechanisms that mediate them.
The post will form part of Targeted Project 1 of the PEPR TRANSFORM programme, dedicated to the creation of the Institut Transform, an organisation focused on research, training and experimentation concerning socio-ecological transformations and conditions of habitability. The successful candidate will contribute to the scientific discussions accompanying the establishment of this institute, within an interdisciplinary framework combining science, the arts and society, as well as to its operational and scientific set-up, by drawing on the expertise and networks of the CRAL.
The successful candidate will report to Frédérique Aït-Touati (Director of research, CNRS – CRAL, UMR 8566).
This position is in a sector subject to the Protection of Scientific and Technical Potential (PPST) regulations and therefore, in accordance with these regulations, requires that your appointment be authorized by the competent authority at the MESR.

PhD in Philosophy (epistemology of the humanities and social sciences, social philosophy, the intersection of art history and environmental history, epistemology of ecology)

Required skills:

• Research experience in the theoretical debates surrounding the status of the concept of 'sensibilities' in social history in general, and in environmental history in particular – socio-cultural constructivism (including its ethnological and geographical variants), the various strands of eco-Marxism, etc.
• A good knowledge of the main theoretical models developed in this context – the anthropology of nature (in conjunction with imperial and postcolonial geographies), ecopsychology (and the psychoanalysis of the non-human environment), critical environmental sociology and the history of technology (particularly in the field of interspecies relations).
• A good general understanding of the role of technical and artistic devices in the evolution of sensibilities towards nature (observation tools, systems of representation, staging devices).
• Knowledge of issues relating to the social, natural and cognitive sciences that can shed light on the various aspects of the research.
• Proven experience of working in inter- and transdisciplinary contexts. Ability to contribute to the scientific coordination of an interdisciplinary research group bringing together researchers from the humanities and social sciences and the life and earth sciences.
• Experience of interdisciplinary research including an empirical component (fieldwork, case studies, interviews) would be an advantage.