PhD offer : Maintaining and stabilizing the underground: an anthropology of post-mining knowledge and practices (M/F)

11 May 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

CNRS

Department

Centre Alexandre Koyre / Histoire des sciences et des techniques

Research Field

Anthropology
Anthropology » Ethnology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

31 May 2024 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The PhD student will be supervised by Germain Meulemans, anthropologist at CNRS/CAK, and Sophie Houdart, anthropologist at CNRS/LESC. They will be housed at the Alexandre-Koyré Center (UMR 8560 EHESS, CNRS, MNHN), where they will have their own workspace, computer and access to the scientific environment and community facilities of EHESS and its brand-new Paris Condorcet Campus.

Summary of the VERTIQUAL project :
This PhD offer is part of the VERTIQUAL collective research project "Towards a politicization and requalification of the underground", a targeted project of the PEPR "Sous-sol bien commun" funded by France 2030. While the end of the 20th century seemed to signal the end of mining activities in mainland France, the last decade has seen a major resurgence of interest in exploiting the country's underground. New projects for underground CO2 storage, geothermal energy and lithium extraction have become a priority for the government and the business sector at a time when multiple technological fixes are being called upon to lower the carbon footprint of capitalism.
Bringing together political scientists, historians, anthropologists and geographers from six research and higher education institutions, the Vertiqual project examines the contemporary processes of redefining and politicizing the uses of France's subsoil. Drawing on a "political geology" perspective (Bobbette and Donovan 2021), the project aims to map the actors currently mobilized around the French underground and the ways in which they frame the underground in their projects, as well as the controversies to which different framings give rise. The project studies 1) how the mobilization of the subsoil within the framework of the so-called "ecological transition" implies the requalification of subsoil-related practices, socio-technical legacies, actors, discourses and policies, 2) how the materiality of the subsoil is defined, redefined and performed by different actors (as resources, waste, storage space, etc.), and 3) the tensions and controversies to which these recompositions give rise.

Thesis goals :
Situated at the crossroads of the ethnography of science (Houdart 2015), the anthropology of infrastructures, Maintenance studies (Denis and Pontille 2021), and the "geosocial turn" (Clark and Yusoff 2017), this thesis will take an anthropological approach to the knowledge, practices and controversies linked to the fate of former mine galleries after the end of their exploitation. Long after the mines have closed, many of the places where the Earth was dug deep continue to face problems of subsidence, collapses, groundwater pollution and flooding, which are directly linked to the presence of the old galleries. Despite the closure of mining operations, these former mines remain "negative commons" (Monin 2021), and will for a long time continue to require inspection, repair and maintenance by people with intimate knowledge of their geography, materials and hazards.
Far from being a given, the stability of the ground can thus be seen as a performance (Meulemans 2022) involving numerous players, from national specialists to former mine workers who have preserved the memory of the underground, who have to deal over time with the materials, tools, regulations and knowledge that make up these infrastructures, which are never completely abandoned, but always maintained in an equilibrium with the belowground forces that surround them.
In the social sciences, post-mining issues have been explored from the angle of the economic reconversion of post-mining territories, patrimonialization, waste, or the renaturation of sites in the case of open-cast mines. In dialogue with this body of work, this thesis will make an original ethnographic contribution to the maintenance of the precarious equilibrium of the soil itself, which compels many actors to indefinitely prolong their attachments to these infrastructural subsoils that many believe belong to the past.

Methodology :
The thesis will be based on ethnographic work carried out with 1) the technicians, engineers, cartographers and other specialists involved in maintenance operations, who often work in close contact with the material; 2) local residents affected by subsidence, flooding and other damage, and the non-profit organizations representing them, elected representatives, insurance companies and their experts, etc.; 3) those involved in current projects to reinvest former mines for geothermal energy or waste storage.
Such an ethnography implies a long-term presence on the chosen fieldwork site, the establishment of close and trusting relationships with people in the field, attentive listening and patient work over several months to carry out individual and group interviews. There are many possibilities for fieldwork, and some sites can be investigated jointly with other project members. Fieldwork must, however, be carried out in mainland France.

References :
Bobbette, A., & Donovan, A. (2021). Political geology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clark, N., & Yusoff, K. (2017). Geosocial formations and the Anthropocene. Theory, Culture & Society, 34(2-3), 3-23.
Denis, J., & Pontille, D. (2022). Le soin des choses : Politiques de la maintenance. la Découverte.
Houdart, S. (2015). Les incommensurables. Paris : Zones Sensibles.
Meulemans, G. (2022). Solidifying grounds: The intricate art of foundation building. Theory, Culture & Society, 39(2), 75-94.
Monnin, A. (2021). Les « communs négatifs » : Entre déchets et ruines. Études, 59-68.

Requirements

Research Field

Anthropology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Anthropology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Research Field

Anthropology

Years of Research Experience

None

Research Field

Anthropology » Ethnology

Years of Research Experience

None

Additional Information
Additional comments

Candidates should hold a Master 2 degree in social sciences, preferably in anthropology. Knowledge of the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) would be appreciated, and specialization in environmental or mining issues would be welcome. The candidate will have experience in conducting ethnographic research, as well as solid writing skills in French and scientific English. The ability to work independently and in an interdisciplinary team environment is also essential.

Applicants should send the following items to [email protected] and [email protected] before June 3, 2024:
- A cover letter
- A CV with grades from Master 1 and 2
- A writing sample: if possible, a chapter from the master's thesis.
Selected candidates will be interviewed on June 21 and/or early July.

Website for additional job details

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR8560-GERMEU-002/Default.aspx

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Centre Alexandre Koyre / Histoire des sciences et des techniques

Country

France

City

AUBERVILLIERS

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Candidat/Offre/UMR8560-GERMEU-002/Candidater.aspx

Contact

City

AUBERVILLIERS

Website

http://koyre.ehess.fr/

STATUS: EXPIRED