PhD Fellowship in Media and Communication Studies 2019, University of Bergen, Norway

There is a vacancy for a PhD position for a period of three years at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies. The position is financed by the project Digitox: Intrusive media, ambivalent users and digital detox, funded by the Research Council of Norway.

The Digitox project analyses digital disconnection and current questions pertaining to the extensive uses of digital media in society. The past few years have seen considerable changes in how we communicate and socialize, and digital media present us with constant dilemmas about what good media use is. While many studies focus on the positive sides of digital media, the Digitox project emphasises ambivalence, resistance and attempts at disconnection. The project employs interdisciplinary insights from media and communication scholarship, game studies and psychology to investigate digital media and the role they play in people’s lives.

The Digitox project is a collaboration between multiple research institutions, with Trine Syvertsen at the University of Oslo as principal investigator. A work package on users is led by Brita Ytre-Arne at UiB, and the PhD candidate will contribute to this part of the project. The successful candidate will be expected to be based in Bergen and be part of The Research group for media use and audience studies, an active group with extensive international contacts, a varied project portfolio and a stimulating environment for young scholars.

The PhD candidate will analyse media users and their experiences with digital disconnection, focusing on ambivalences, strategies, dilemmas, perceptions, norms or resistance pertaining to digital media in everyday life. The candidate will outline an original and creative PhD project, suitable to illuminate user experiences empirically and to contribute to theory development within the Digitox project. Relevant methods are qualitative interviews, diaries, focus groups, experiments, tracking and log data. Topics or case studies of relevance are for instance:

• Individuals, families, work places or student groups taking part in digital detox
• Experiences with intrusive digital media in different situations
• Ambivalence, media nostalgia and attempts at disconnection and withdrawal
• Dilemmas about screen use in schools, work or family settings
• Organization of detox experiments
• Non-use of smartphones or social media
• Experiences with apps for self-help and time management for digital media
• Politically motivated media resistance and activism

Applicants are encouraged to contact Brita Ytre-Arne (Brita.Ytre-Arne@uib.no) to get access to the Digitox project plan, and to make use of this when producing an outline for the PhD project. Assessment of outlines will emphasise creative and innovative perspectives, and theoretical and methodological ambitions. The balance between and specification of different components in the PhD project should be grounded in specific research questions. After being hired the successful candidate will develop the outline further in cooperation with the supervisor and project manager.  

Link to the research group website: https://www.uib.no/en/rg/mediause

Link to the project website: https://www.hf.uio.no/imk/english/research/projects/digital-disconnection/index.html

• The applicant must hold a master's degree or the equivalent in media studies, media and communication, digital culture, psychology, sociology, social anthropology or similar. The applicant must have submitted his/her master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded.
• The requirements are generally grade B or better on the master thesis and for the master’s degree in general.
• Experience from academic work is preferable. The candidate must have considerable motivation for research, interest in the theme of the project, and insight into relevant theories and methods.
• The candidate must be able to work independently and systematically, and must be able to cooperate well with others.
• Proficiency in English is required. Proficiency in Norwegian or a different Scandinavian language can be an advantage, but is not required. 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview in August.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.