Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Citizens, media and democracy

University of Bergen is looking for an ambitious scholar who wants to help develop a new agenda for researching citizens’ relations to the public sphere in Norway. The postdoc will form part of the team for the project “Distributed and prepared. A new theory of citizens’ public connection networks in the age of datafication” (PREPARE), funded by The European Research Council (2023-2027) and led by professor Hallvard Moe. The position is full-time for a period of 3 years.

About the project/work tasks:

PREPARE analyzes citizens’ potential for political engagement. With a standing in media and communication studies, but drawing on political theory, anthropology and sociology, the project will stake out a new path for research on citizens’ role in democracies.

The postdoctoral research fellow will undertake fieldwork with qualitative methods. We are concentrating on hard-to-reach social groups to understand how they connect to the public and engage with politics in a broad sense. Groups being studied in the project so far includes immigrants and elderly people in rural communities. The postdoctoral fellow is expected to suggest one or more relevant social groups in their project proposal.

Relevant topics include digital media in everyday life, political engagement and theories that address the roles of citizens in democracy. Applicants should propose a sketch for a postdoctoral project, to be further developed in collaboration with the project leader upon hiring.

The postdoc will work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and inclusive team, as part of the PREPARE project and Bergen Media Use Research Group, which constitutes a stimulating environment for young researchers.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• The applicant must hold a PhD or equivalent degree within media studies, anthropology, political science, sociology, or other relevant disciplines - or must have submitted his/her doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded.
• Proven interest in issues related to media use and democracy.
• Experience from ethnographic approaches, qualitative methods, as well as digital methods is an advantage.
• Ability to work independently and in a structured manner to contribute to an ambitious research group.
• Ability to contribute to a dynamic and inclusive research environment.
• Proficiency in both written and oral English.
• A good command of a Scandinavian language.

Potential candidates may be invited to the department for an interview.