Postdoctoral researcher “history of medicine and/or technology” at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department Technology and Society Studies, Maastricht University
Specifications - (explanation)
| Location | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Grote Gracht 90-92, 6211 SZ Maastricht |
|---|---|
| Function types | Postdoc positions |
| Scientific fields | Behaviour and Society, Language and Culture |
| Hours | 38.0 hours per week |
| Education | Doctorate |
| Job number | AT2017.120 |
| Translations | en |
| About employer | Maastricht University (UM) |
| Short link | www.academictransfer.com/39993 |
Job description
This
is an exciting opportunity to join a relatively new research team
carrying out comparative collaborative work on medical practices. In
particular we are looking for a historian to conduct oral history
interviews, and relevant archival research, in Budapest, Tamale and
Maastricht. The historian will attend to doctors’ learning and teaching
with technologies. He/she will work independently and in collaboration
with the two PhD ethnographers and the principal investigator (PI) of
the project, Anna Harris. The postdoctoral researcher will have
the opportunity to expand on the details of their own research based on
their expertise, the material they gather and their own ideas, in
consultation with the PI. They will also work synergistically and
collectively with the rest of the team. For example, they will: play a
crucial role in the conceptual and methodological innovations
required by the project as a collective endeavour; lead, and contribute
to, academic publications; participate in team meetings; offer active
support to the PhDs; engage in presentations; and be involved in the
co-organisation of workshops and other events related to the project.
Requirements
Historians
who have a completed PhD in the history of medicine and/or technology
(or another relevant topic/field, such as the senses, media or education
for example), with methodological experience in oral history
interviewing, are invited to apply. The postdoctoral researcher will be
based in Maastricht and will spend several months conducting interviews
in Hungary and in Ghana. The successful candidate must be willing to
travel, be open to working together with a team of anthropologists and
STS scholars on a collaborative project, and have excellent
organisational abilities. Excellent communication and writing skills in
English are a prerequisite, since the candidates will be engaging on an
international level, collaborating with other team members in English
and producing English-language publications. Knowledge of Hungarian or a
Ghanaian language is an advantage, however not essential as
interpreters will be hired for the oral history interviews if necessary.
Conditions of employment
We
offer a dynamic and challenging job in an internationally-oriented
organisation where young people receive an advanced education and
scholars conduct exciting research. The postdoctoral researcher will
have the unique opportunity to carry out research within one or more of
the four themes within the research programme. They will be part of an
international network of top universities and renowned scholars within
the field.
We offer a 1.00 fte
appointment as Researcher for 3 years. The first year will be a
probation period, after a positive assessment the position will be
extended for the remaining two years.
Your position of Post-doctoral Researcher (Onderzoeker 3) will consist of 100% research.
Remuneration
will be according to standard salary levels, depending on education and
relevant work experience. This implies a gross monthly salary of about €
3.068,00 per month, scale level 10 (based on a full-time appointment).
Each year the standard salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance
of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%. After a positive assessment a
promotion to scale 11 is possible in the 2nd year.
You
have to be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht. If you do
not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you will be
eligible for an allowance for moving costs. If you do not already live
in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you might be eligible for an
allowance for alternative housing.
Other secondary conditions include e.g. a pension scheme and partially paid parental leave.
You will be provided with shared office space and a PC.
Contract type:
Temporary,
3 years
Employer
Maastricht
University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based
learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and
student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a
multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research
institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,000
students and 4,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong
international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from
abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine
and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics,
Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Department
The
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) has about 250 staff
members, and about 1,600 students. More than 75% of the students are
non-Dutch (almost 40 different nationalities). All programmes are
offered in English and some are also offered in Dutch. FASoS offers two
3-year Bachelor’s programmes: Arts and Culture and European Studies. It
also offers six different 1-year Master’s programmes and two 2-year
research Master’s programmes.
Research is organised
around four programmes: Politics and Culture in Europe; Science,
Technology and Society Studies; Arts, Media and Culture; and
Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development. The Faculty of Arts and
Social Sciences is housed in the historic city centre of Maastricht.
Additional information
Applicants are invited for a 3-year postdoctoral position within the project “Making clinical sense: A comparative study of how doctors learn in digital times”. The project is funded by the European Research Council (Starting Grant), awarded to the principal investigator, Anna Harris.
Research project
Digital technologies are reconfiguring medical practices in ways we still don’t understand.“Making clinical sense: A comparative study of how doctors learn in digital times” seeks
to examine the impact of the digital in medicine by studying the role
of pedagogical technologies in how doctors learn the skills of their
profession. It focuses on the centuries-old skill of physical
examination; a sensing of the body, through the body. Medical students
are increasingly learning these skills away from the bedside, through
videos, simulated models and in laboratories. A research team of three
ethnographers and a historian will interrogate how learning with these
technologies affects how doctors learn to sense bodies.
Simultaneous,
comparative fieldwork will soon be undertaken by three ethnographers
(the PI and two PhDs) with medical students and teachers in medical
schools and teaching hospitals in: Maastricht, the Netherlands;
Budapest, Hungary; and Tamale, Ghana. The role of the historian will be
to conduct oral histories at each of these three sites, focusing on the
introduction and incorporation (or otherwise) of technologies in medical
education. Through the rich case of doctors-in-training, this
historical-anthropological study aims to address a key challenge in
social scientific scholarship regarding how technologies are implicated
in bodily, sensory knowing of the world.
Starting date: preferably 1st November 2017
Further information on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is available on our website: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fasos
Any inquiries about the position or the project may be addressed to Anna Harris: a.harris@maastrichtuniversity.nl
The
Programme can be characterized by its international and
interdisciplinary nature and the emphasis on cultural and societal
issues of the modern world. Further information on the Faculty of Arts
and Social Sciences may be accessed on: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fasos
Maastricht
University’s Terms of Employment are laid down in the Collective Labour
Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local university
provisions apply as well. For more information please see the website: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ Support / UM employees
For more details about the application procedure, please click on ‘Solliciteer’
Interested candidates are invited to submit:
- A letter of motivation summarising relevant experience and reasons for interest in the position.
- A CV including a complete list of publications.
- A grade transcript of previous education at Master/graduate level.
- PhD degree certificate.
- Their best article or book chapter, preferably single-authored.
The deadline for submitting your application is 27 May 2017
Please send your application electronically to the Secretariat of the department Technology and Society Studies
All
applicants will be notified within one month following the deadline as
to whether or not they have been selected for an interview with the
search committee. Short-listed candidates will be asked to write a
research proposal related to the project described above, of 1,000 words
(further details will be supplied) and provide two references.
Interviews will take place in Maastricht and/or via Skype.