Two PhD positions within STS: Sustainability in China’s food and agricultural systems

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At the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU, there are two fully funded three-year PhD positions vacant in Science and Technology studies (STS) focusing on sustainability in China’s food and agricultural systems. The PhD positions are funded by the European Research Council (ERC) as part of the project ‘A Middle Way ? Probing Sufficiency through Meat and Milk in China’ (MidWay).

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The MidWay project addresses the sustainability challenges relating to food and agriculture in China, with the consumption and production of meat and milk as empirical cases. Rather than arguing for increased efficiency, the project probes the concept of sufficiency to explore its potential for reducing human impacts on Earth’s biosphere while preserving overall welfare, i.e., its potential for defining a ‘middle way’ between ‘too little’ and ‘too much’. China is seen as a strategic research site to ask questions about the supply and demand of animal foods, hypothesising that what has made meat and milk integral to Chinese food practices might also be ‘otherwise’.

The two PhD candidates will be involved in core aspects of the project, including conducting ethnographic fieldwork at several sites along the systems of provision of pork and milk. The approach entails visiting facilities such as so-called ‘backyard farms’, mid-sized farms, and more industrialised production facilities, as well as packaging, processing, and retailing facilities, with a particular focus on supermarkets. Data collection methods include participant observation and interviews with farmers, meat and milk packagers, supermarket clerks and other relevant actors. The two PhD candidates are expected to stay in China over an extended period (9-12 months from 2024) and will benefit from collaborating on some aspects of the data generation process.

The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture is part of the Faculty of Humanities at NTNU, located at the Dragvoll campus in Trondheim. The department has 25 permanent employees, including research scientists. There are currently approximately 25 PhD candidates, post docs and temporary employees. The department teaches and conducts research in two areas: Gender studies and Science and technology studies (STS). Teaching is provided at all levels, including PhD. More info can be found at www.ntnu.no/kult .

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