University of Oslo Doctoral Research Fellowship in Japanese Studies, Norway

University of Oslo Doctoral Research Fellowship in Japanese Studies

A PhD Research Fellowship in Japanese Studies is available at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo. IKOS seeks to recruit a PhD candidate with excellent research qualifications who will investigate issues of heritagisation in contemporary Japan.

The successful applicant will address issues related to the project Sacred heritage? Secularisation, sacralisation and the production of heritage in contemporary Japan.This project looks at the transformation of religious sites into heritage sites, which entails intense processes of negotiation and re-signification, not least about the place of religion in the public sphere and the boundaries between the religious and the secular. The successful applicant will address one or more of the following questions:

How does the “heritagisation” of temples, shrines, pilgrimage trails and other places of worship affect institutional and devotional practices?
How does the reclassification of “sacred sites” as “heritage sites” relate to wider processes of secularisation and sacralisation in Japanese society?
How do Japanese applications for World Heritage status relate to territorial claims, in particular with regard to its peripheral islands (e.g., Okinoshima, Ogasawara, the Ryukyu Islands)?
How does the production of cultural and natural heritage in Japan reflect ongoing demographic, political and ideological developments?

The successful candidate is expected to join the department’s research community and take active part in its collegial meetings and seminars. The research community includes Japanese and East Asian Studies as well as religious studies and heritage studies.

The person appointed will be affiliated with the Faculty's organized research training. The academic work is to result in a doctoral thesis that will be defended at the Faculty with a view to obtaining the degree of PhD.

The appointment is for three years.

Requirements

A Master's degree or equivalent in Japanese Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Anthropology, or a related discipline.
Advanced Japanese and English language competence is required.
The Master's Degree must be obtained at the time of application, and the Master’s thesis should be on a relevant topic. Candidates who have already obtained a PhD degree or submitted a PhD thesis in a similiar field will not be considered for this fellowship.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on:

The project’s scientific merits and creative potential
The applicant's academic and personal qualifications
The applicant’s ability to complete the project and research training within the time frame
The applicant’s collaboration skills and ability/willingness to join an interdisciplinary academic community

Applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may be given preference.

Short-listed candidates will be called in for an interview at the University of Oslo, or we will arrange for an interview on Skype.

We offer

salary level 50 - 56 (NOK 430 500 - 475 400, depending on level of expertise)
a professionally stimulating working environment
attractive welfare benefits

Submissions

Applicants must submit the following attachments with the electronic application, preferably in pdf format:

letter of application
Curriculum Vitae
list of publications (if applicable)
transcript of records of your Master's degree. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their university's grading system
project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (maximum 5 pages, see Template for project descriptions)

Educational certificates, Master’s theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) § 25, Chapter 2, information about the applicant may be used in the public list of applicants even if the applicant opts out from the entry in the public application list.