PhD positions in Digital Culture 2019, University of Bergen, Norway

PhD positions in Digital Culture: Machine Vision in Games and Digital Art

The University of Bergen (UiB) is an internationally recognised research university with more than 14,000 students and close to 3,500 employees at six faculties. The university is located in the heart of Bergen. Our main contribution to society is excellent basic research and education across a wide range of disciplines. Two PhD fellowships are available at the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Bergen from 1 January 2019.The positions are part of the ERC project Machine Vision in Everyday Life: Playful Interactions with Visual Technologies in Digital Art, Games, Narratives and Social Media. The positions are for a fixed-term period of three years financed by ERC.

 About the project/work tasks

MACHINE VISION aims to develop a theory of how everyday machine vision (e.g. facial recognition algorithms, selfie filters, image manipulation, drone cameras or home surveillance systems) affects the way ordinary people understand themselves and their world. One PhD fellow will analyse video games and one will analyse digital art, both focusing on works where machine vision is used in the interface or where machine vision is a theme. The PhD fellows will work in a team with a third PhD fellow who will analyse machine vision in narratives. Led by Professor Jill Walker Rettberg, the team will map relevant artworks, games and narratives using digital humanities methodologies, and each fellow will then select key works for detailed analysis using methodologies based in literary or visual studies, ludology and other related disciplines.

The PhD fellows will participate in the PhD program in Faculty of Humanities, and in the Digital Culture Research Group. A project summary is available from the project website: https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision

 Qualifications and personal qualities

• The applicants must have a master's degree or the equivalent in a relevant discipline, such as digital culture, media studies, art history, game studies or comparative literature. Applicants must have completed their master’s degree at the time of application. Please note that the University requires the equivalent of a Norwegian master’s degree (i.e. 3 years bachelor and 2 years master, 300 ECTS altogether). Applicants who do not have a Norwegian master’s degree will be evaluated according to the regulations of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT). The Department can send documentation of foreign education to NOKUT to evaluate if this degree is equivalent to a Norwegian master’s degree.

• Candidates should have experience in aesthetic and/or textual analysis of art, movies, games, literature or digital artefacts.

• Experience in the digital humanities or digital methods is an advantage, but not an absolute requirement as training will be given.

• The applicants must describe how their previous research experience applies to the Machine Vision project and give a description of how they intend to shape their part of the project. One of the PhD fellows will work on digital art and one on games, so applicants must indicate which genre they are interested in.

• The applicant must be able to work independently and in a structured manner, and have the ability to cooperate with others.

• The positions require proficiency in both written and oral English

 About the Ph.D. position

The fellowship is awarded for a period of three years.

The employment period may be reduced if the selected candidate previously has been employed in a recruitment position. Applicants who have previously held a PhD-position at University of Bergen cannot apply.

 The successful applicant will be expected to relocate to the University of Bergen and must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

 About the research training

The Fellowship’s main goal is to lead to a PhD degree, which qualifies for independent research activities, and for other work that requires particular competence.

 The successful PhD Candidate will be enrolled in the PhD program at UiB which entails an educational program/research training. It is expected that the successful PhD candidate develops a plan and a project description for research education together with project leader of the MACHINE VISION project within three months after employment. It is a condition that the candidate satisfies the enrolment requirements for the PhD program at the University of Bergen.

 Offers

• A good and professionally challenging working environment.


• Salary at pay grade 50 (Code 1017/Pay range 20, alternative 8) in the state salary scale, currently NOK 436 500 gross p.a.

• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.


• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise).


• Good welfare benefits.

 General information

Detailed information about the position can be provided by:

Professor Jill Walker Rettberg Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies. Email: Jill.Walker.Rettberg@uib.no

 The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of the Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore desired. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

 The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions. Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

 How to apply for the position:

Please apply electronically in the online system Jobbnorge via the link “APPLY FOR THIS JOB”.

 Your application must include:

• A 2-3000 word text explaining your motivation for applying for the position and how you would be a good fit for the job. The document must clearly indicate whether you are applying for the fellowship focused on games or on digital art, and must include a discussion of how your previous research experience applies to the Machine Vision project as well as a description of how you intend to shape your part of the project, for instance indicating works of art or games that would be relevant, and what theoretical or methodological perspectives you foresee using.

• CV - please use the online form at Jobbnorge.


• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor's and master's degree


• A summary of the master thesis (max 3 pages)


• The names and contact information for two reference persons. One of these must be the main advisor for the master's thesis or equivalent thesis.

• Publications, if any (max 3)

• A list of publications you have published of a scientific nature (publication list), if any. You may also include any digital humanities projects you have contributed too, and if doing so, please indicate your role in the project.

 The enclosures can be submitted as Word- or pdf-files.

 The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.

 Applicants are asked to follow the steps as described in the Guidelines for Electronic

Applications at the Faculty of Humanities:

http://www.uib.no/en/hf/30763/guide-applicants-phd-position

 Any queries concerning the electronic application procedure should be directed to the Faculty of Humanities. Email: fakadm@hf.uib.no

 Reference number: 2018/3705

Application deadline: 20 June 2018

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.