University Researcher, EuroStorie

The University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest and largest academic institution, an international scholarly community of 40,000 students and researchers. In international university rankings, the University of Helsinki usually ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. The University of Helsinki is seeking solutions to global challenges and engendering new thinking for the benefit of humanity.

The University of Helsinki's Faculty of Arts (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-arts ) is Finland’s oldest and largest unit of teaching and research in the arts in terms of the organisation and selection of its disciplines. The Faculty is also a significant international community of research, education and culture.

The Faculty of Arts invites applications for the position of

UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER

for a three-year fixed term period from 1 September 2022 onwards (or as agreed) to contribute to the subproject Migration and the Narratives of Europe as an “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice” of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Law, Identity and the European Narratives (EuroStorie, www.eurostorie.org ). There is a six-month trial period for the position.

The CoE is a part of the interdisciplinary Centre of European Studies. The purpose of the CoE is to launch a new, third generation inquiry that critically explores the emergence of narratives of Europe as responses to the crises of the twentieth century and how these narratives have shaped the ideas of justice and community in Europe. It studies the foundational stories that underlie the contested idea of a shared European heritage in law and culture, such as the ideas of rule of law, equality, tolerance, pluralism and the rejection of totalitarianism, and their relevance for current debates on identity and history. The CoE is divided into three subprojects. For descriptions of the subprojects and their aims, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/law-identity-and-the-european-narratives/subprojects .

The subproject Migration and the Narratives of Europe as an “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice” traces narratives of Europe, traversing through both historical and current experiences of exile. It focuses on the impact of exile on shaping the European legal, social and religious/cultural narratives. The sub-project breaks up with the perception of exile as one-sided and static transfer of knowledge and approaches it as dynamic and generative process. It traces the role of exile and refugee experience in constructing the European legal and theological thought, in particular, the European identity grounded in the idea of rule of law and human rights. We encourage especially applications that would approach themes of the subproject 3 from the perspective of ethnographies of migration governance and legal institutions (e.g. Council of Europe), European narratives form different regional perspectives (e.g. Eastern Europe), political economies of migration and mobility as well as mobility histories. We also welcome research projects beyond those themes, particularly if they combine thematically two or three EuroStorie subprojects. We welcome applicants with a multidisciplinary academic background and experience in conducting high-level research in interdisciplinary groups who will take a leading role in setting the research and teaching agenda for the Subproject 3. We offer an exciting and stimulating multidisciplinary research community.

SELECTION CRITERIA

An appointee to the position of university researcher shall hold a doctoral degree in a relevant field of anthropology, sociology, human geography, law, or equivalent, have evidence of conducting independent scientific research work in a highly multidisciplinary environment and the ability to obtain financing. In addition, the appointee shall possess the teaching skills necessary for the position. The position of university researcher shall require the ability to lead a research group as well. When selecting the appointee, scholarly work outside Finland and evidence of international cooperation shall be given particular consideration.

An appointee will have substantial research experience after the PhD that is demonstrated by high-quality publications in one or more of the core research areas of the CoE Subproject 3. An appointee must be able to provide a clear contribution to the theme of the CoE and to its general development. To fulfil the research requirements of the position, the applicant chosen is expected to be physically present on a regular basis and actively participate in the research and teaching activities of the CoE. An appointee is expected to contribute 2 months of the annual work time to joint projects at the CoE, develop our common research agenda, contribute to collective academic tasks such as teaching, seminars and joint academic papers, and take a leading role in setting these tasks for him/herself as well as the other members of the subproject. The teaching requirement is at least 5% of working time.

WHAT WE OFFER

The University of Helsinki is an equal opportunity employer and offers an attractive and diverse workplace in an inspiring environment with a variety of development opportunities and benefits (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki ).

The salary will be based on level 6-7, exceptionally 5 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance.

The monthly gross salary of a university researcher is approximately € 3500–4500 depending on their qualifications and work experience.

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and sports services as well as professional development opportunities (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki/staff-benefits ).

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

The application must be submitted through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system by clicking on the link below. Employees of the University of Helsinki must submit their applications through the SAP Fiori portal https://msap.sap.helsinki.fi .

Applicants are requested to enclose with their applications the following documents in English as a single pdf file called “called “lastname_EuroStorie”:

For the more detailed instructions, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/humanistinen-tiedekunta/tiedekunta/ohjeita-opetus-ja-tutkimustehtaviin-hakeville .

The University of Helsinki welcomes applicants from a variety of gender identities, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information about the position, and about the research theme Migration and the narratives of Europe as an “Area of freedom, security and justice” (in English and Finnish) from prof. Dr. Reetta Toivanen [email protected] . Recruitment system technical support: [email protected] .

APPLICATION PERIOD ENDS JUNE 16, 2022.