Postdoctoral Research Associate

The Department

SGIA is a growing department over the next five years by which point we anticipate having 50 core academic staff, up from 29 in 2017-18. Building on current successes (QS top 100), SGIA aims to be amongst the World’s top 40 and the UK’s top 10 units in the field by the completion of our expansion. SGIA plans to be amongst the most diverse and inclusive departments in the UK, too. Our academic community ethos stresses equality and we will provide an environment that supports all its members effectively. The department holds an Athena Swan award at silver level and is developing a range of initiatives to enhance equality and diversity in our research, teaching and management practices.

The successful candidate will join a vibrant research culture which provides a stimulating and supportive environment for developing and refining research projects and outputs, networking with colleagues within and beyond Durham, and providing pump-priming financial support for research. All staff have access to excellent individual research support and Durham University’s wealth of research resources, as appropriate for a University that aims to be firmly within the world’s elite.  

SGIA attracts some of the most highly qualified undergraduates in the UK to its exciting undergraduate degree programmes, which are scheduled to expand significantly over the coming eight years. The postgraduate student community is large, at over 200 taught and research students, and highly international. 

The Role

Applications are invited for two (2) Postdoctoral Research Associates in Political Ethnography with a particular emphasis on pro- and anti-migration mobilisation in Mediterranean refugee reception sites. The positions are made possible by an ESRC-funded project “Contesting Migration: Pro- and Anti-Migration Mobilisation in Mediterranean Refugee Reception Sites”. Specifically, the post-holders would play a major role in the conduct of primary research in Spain (1 post) and Italy (1 post), as well as associated publication, dissemination and project organisation. The project will employ another Postdoctoral Research Associate based at the University of Cyprus who will conduct research in Greece.

The project, that the successful candidates would play a part in, is led by Dr Olga Demetriou (at Durham) and Prof Antonis Ellinas (at the University of Cyprus). Using ethnographic methods alongside interviews and document analysis, the project studies the governance of migration through the lens of refugee reception sites with a focus on political contestation between pro- and anti-migration actors. It adopts a comparative methodology to analyse conventional, contentious, and cultural forms of activism and the effect of actions on the success of mobilization. The project takes a collaborative approach on field engagement through partnerships with institutions, and on the production of public outputs.

The post-holders will be expected to conduct ethnographic research in two reception locations in Spain (1 post) and two reception locations in Italy (1 post), comprising the full range of participant observation methods in order to document the narratives, events, activities, and processes that develop around migration in these sites. The post-holders should have English proficiency, as well as proficiency in the language in which the research will be conducted, i.e. Spanish and Italian respectively.

All research expenses are covered, and the successful candidate will be funded to attend and present at conferences as well as engage in knowledge exchange activities. The project leads will develop a bespoke programme of professional development for the project PDRAs.