PhD fellow in philosophy

UiT- The Arctic University of Norway; Of; On-site; TRY 2,526,000 - 2,680,000; Full time

Job summary

UiT The Arctic University of Norway invites applications for a PhD fellowship in the Department of Philosophy at Tromsø. The position is part of the Philosophy for Modern Times (PhilMod) research group and offers an inclusive, international academic environment and opportunities for development and collaboration.

The PhD fellowship lasts three years of full-time study, with potential extension and completion grants for teaching qualifications; admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite.

Qualifications

• A completed Master’s degree or equivalent in philosophy with a grade average of B or better (ECTS).

Education

Master’s degree in philosophy

Job description

The position

A PhD position is available at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

The Department has an engaged academic environment with broad expertise in both practical and theoretical philosophy, and active research networks in ethics, political philosophy, environmental philosophy, and feminist philosophy. These interests come together in our research group Philosophy for Modern Times (PhilMod), which organizes a range of regular activities throughout the year, such as research seminars, work-in-progress seminars, conferences, workshops, various reading groups, and visits from guest researchers. The postholder will be a member of PhilMod and will be encouraged to engage in all its research activities.

Our colleagues contribute both to fundamental research and public debate, and we have a strong presence in national and international networks. The Department of Philosophy also administers the Centre for Women’s and Gender Research. The Department offers education in philosophy at all levels from a one‑year programme, Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees up to PhD level. As a PhD fellow with us, you will become part of an inclusive and intellectually stimulating research environment with excellent opportunities for academic development and international collaboration. We value open dialogue, collegial support, and curiosity in addressing complex questions. Our staff and PhD candidates benefit from a strong culture that supports supervision, mobility, and research dissemination. We aim to facilitate the development of each candidate’s academic profile in line with their individual goals and the Department’s strategic priorities.

The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD fellow position is for a period of three years and full time studies with the possibility of an extension of the appointment period. If the doctoral dissertation is submitted for appraisal within 3 years or within 3.5 years, the PhD candidate is qualified for a completion grant for either 12 or 6 months. The completion grant should be used to further qualification measures such as courses in teaching in higher education, lecturing and other relevant work at the faculty. More information about the completion grant scheme can be found here.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project / The position’s field of research

The pervasive human impact on the environment has not only caused serious environmental problems but also blurred the longstanding distinction between humans and nature. Some say that this breakdown gives humans the right to decide what kind of nature we want to have, others say that we need to include the interests of non‑human beings in our decision‑making. With respect to the latter approach, there is a growing political movement, as well as academic research that seeks to expand the prevailing conception of democracy so that the interests of non‑human entities can be represented. These entities could include, for example, sentient and/or non‑sentient animals, plants, whole populations or species, and non‑living entities such as rivers or mountains, and ecosystems. These calls have been reflected in number of academic disciplines, fields and sub‑fields, for example the “political turn in animal ethics”, “the rights of nature” and, perhaps most pervasively across the humanities, an interest in the ontology behind and value(s) of the “more‑than‑human”.

More than human democracy challenges current conceptions of whom should count as a political subject or agent and the criteria of political membership. This question has been asked many times in the past, but we should not take for granted at previous insights on inclusion of humans can readily translate to the more‑than‑human.

Does democracy provide the right institutional framework for including, understanding and analysing more‑than‑human interests? We invite applications that seek to develop – or critique – the idea of a more‑than human democracy.

Possible Research Questions Include, But Are Not Limited To

Several advocates of ‘more‑than‑human democracy’ challenge fundamental ideas about what a subject is. For example, post‑humanists conceive of the subject as relational and fundamentally interdependent. Can democratic institutions accommodate this kind of understanding of the subject?

If democracy is expanded to include non‑human subjects, which kinds of entities should be included and how can/should they be represented?

How would including who or what can count as political subjects affect democracy as it functions today? How, for example, might it affect other aspects of democracy such as the role of deliberation or civil disobedience?

If a more than human democracy is not tenable or desirable, what (if any) requirements could be placed on democratic processes to help safeguard the environment? For example, what kind of weight should be given to scientific or other forms of knowledge about the more‑than human world?

Applicants are invited to submit projects within the discipline of philosophy. We are open to various philosophical traditions and approaches, and we welcome projects that emphasise marginalised perspectives. To ensure good supervision, however, applicants are encouraged to examine the research profiles of IFF staff and take these into account when preparing an application.

We are also open to projects that are informed by empirical research, but the main theoretical framework and focus must be within philosophy.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact professor og head of the PhilMod research group, Clare Heyward,

• epost: [e-mail]
• telefon: [phone]

or head of department Melina Duarte

• epost: [e-mail]
• telfon: 77 64 43 29

Qualifications

• A completed Master’s degree or equivalent in philosophy with a grade average of B or better (according to the ECTS scale). If you have not received your diploma by the application deadline, you may still apply—provided that your master’s thesis has been submitted for assessment and this