Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region

University of Greifswald
7 DFG-funded doctoral research studentships

International Research Training Group "Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region"

Starting date: 1st January 2013 (subject to approval from the DFG)

Value of the studentship: € 13,236 p.a. (consisting of monthly: € 1,000 maintenance grant plus a € 103 grant for books and other materials).

The studentship will be awarded for one year and 3 months initially, and can be extended for a further year and nine months after review.

Closing date for applications: 30th September 2012

The University of Greifswald has received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the International Research Training Group "Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region" and now invites applications from well-qualified candidates for one of three PhD studentships. This announcement addresses particularly applicants from history, art history, Slavonic and Baltic languages and literature, political science, cultural studies and systematic theology.

The International Research Training Group was initiated by the University of Greifswald, the University of Lund (Sweden), and the University of Tartu (Estonia) to provide a common programme for doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers. Currently, 20 PhD students and 5 post-docs are being trained in Greifswald, Lund and Tartu. In Greifswald, the subject areas offered include history, Baltic and Slavonic languages and literature, psychology, political science, and systematic theology. Over and beyond history, theology, and Slavonic studies in Lund and Tartu, there are also offerings in ethnology, geography, and communication studies.

Applications are invited from candidates willing to conduct research relating to one of the following themes:

1. The emergence and transformation of historical borderlands
2. The cultural contexts of cross-border action in borderland areas
3. The economic permeability and persistence of borders
4. New border regimes: The political dimension of border formation and dissolution

The programme of study within the International Research Training Group includes relevant courses held locally at each university as well as tri-national workshops in Greifswald, Lund and Tartu. Furthermore, it is obligatory that each PhD student will spend 6-12 months as a visiting researcher at the partner universities. The costs of such research visits will be covered by a mobility grant awarded in addition to the monthly allowance.

Requirements:

• applicants should hold a good first degree and normally have, or be about to obtain, a Masters qualification in a discipline relevant to the PhD topic.
• exposé for a research proposal relating to one of the five themes of research (max. 10 pages)
• good written and spoken English. Knowledge of German, Estonian or Swedish is desirable but not essential.

The willingness and ability of the candidate to participate actively in an international research programme is a precondition. The programme of study is compulsory for all PhD students in the International Research Training Group. The University of Greifswald is committed to increasing the share of women and disabled people within the organisation. Women and disabled people are explicitly invited to apply.

Holders of a studentship are expected to take up residence in Greifswald.

Applications (with curriculum vitae, copies of educational qualifications and degree thesis, list of publications, a written reference from a university professor, and a research proposal) should be sent to the speaker of the International Research Training Group, Professor Dr. Michael North by 30th September 2012.

For further details:

Telephone: +49 3834 86-33 09
Fax: +49 3834 86-33 05
e-mail: north@uni-greifswald.de
Homepage: http://www.phil.uni-greifswald.de/bereich2/histin/ls/fnz/borderlands.html
Address:
Professor Dr. Michael North
Speaker of the International Research Training Group "Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region"
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
Domstraße 9 a
17487 Greifswald
Germany