Translating Memories: The Eastern European Past in the Global Arena,
funded by the European Research Council (ERC), is being carried out at the School of Humanities, Tallinn University (2020-2024).
Principal Investigator (PI) is PhD Eneken Laanes.
Position: The project is recruiting two post-doctoral Research Fellows (2 positions).
Academic unit: School of Humanities
The position will be filled by September 1, 2020 and the maximum duration of the contract is 36 months.
https://www.tlu.ee/en/taxonomy/term/84/research-fellow-post-doctoral
Aims of Translating Memories
The project explores post-Soviet Central and Eastern European attempts to make their local histories of the Second World War and the Socialist regime known globally. It examines these efforts through aesthetic media of memory – literature, film and art – that circulate globally and bring local experiences to global audiences and through the heated public debates that these works of art have provoked in different national and transnational contexts. What memorial forms have been used to make Eastern European memories intelligible in the global arena? What is gained and what is lost in this translation? What can the different ways that aesthetic acts of memory are received nationally and transnationally tell us about the frictions between these scales of memory and within the national itself? How has the globalisation of memory practices reinforced national memory in Eastern Europe? The project argues that the recently reinforced comparative and competitive political discourses about twentieth-century totalitarianisms in Eastern Europe can only be understood by exploring the arts that have developed more productive comparative and translational approaches and can therefore help to untangle the most recalcitrant nodes of confrontational political discourses and addressing the ethical and political complexity of remembering war and state terror.
The aesthetic media of memory (literature, film, art, museums) are studied in the contexts of wider memory cultures, including their relationship to the politics of memory of different (trans)national memory cultures in the region. The project aims to offer a comparative and transnational view of Central and Eastern European attempts to negotiate their entangled histories of twentieth-century totalitarianisms within the global framework.
Requirements for the candidates
Candidates for the research fellow (post-doctoral) position shall meet at least the requirements of career level II of research fellow (Annex 5, 9 and 10 of TLU’s Employment Relations Rules).
· Doctoral Degree (non-TLU doctoral degree) in a relevant discipline (Slavic Studies, Literary and Cultural Studies, Film Studies, Art History, Memory Studies or in a related field). Doctoral degree must have been defended or obtained an equivalent qualification in a foreign country not more than five years ago, excluding the time taken for pregnancy and maternity leave, child care leave and conscription service or alternative service.
· An excellent academic track record relevant to the project;
· Demonstrable affinity with cultural memory studies;
· Excellent English, academic writing and presentation skills (at least on the level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages);
· Good level of one or more Central and Eastern European languages relevant for the researcher’s individual project;
· Ability to meet deadlines and work both as an independent researcher and as a team member;
· Good organisational, social and communication skills.
Job responsibilities
General work duties are determined in Annexes 1, 5 and 10 of the Employment Relations Rules of Tallinn University. Guidelines for the research design and its practical execution will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor of the research project.
The project has an opening for two Post-doctoral Researchers. The individual subprojects of the post-doctoral researchers will focus on different regions in Central and Eastern Europe and the role of aesthetic media of memory in their memory cultures in the post-Soviet period. Comparative projects within Central and Eastern Europe are particularly welcomed.
The post-doctoral researchers will join a team of three doctoral students and several senior researchers at the interdisciplinary and international School of Humanities. The project funding allows for international research trips and conference attendance and the researchers are given support for publishing in international peer-reviewed journals. They are expected to conduct their own research on a topic closely related to the project, write and publish academic papers, as well as assist in organising project-related academic and public outreach activities.
Workload: 1,0 FTE.
Salary: max 2200 euros (incl. direct taxes as income tax, unemployment insurance and the funded pension payment which are withheld from the salary automatically by the employer).
Location: The post-doctoral researchers are expected to live in Tallinn and work at the premises of Tallinn University.
Additional information: Practical questions on the competition should be directed to konkurss@tlu.ee, questions about the research project and the nature of the work should be sent to Dr Eneken Laanes, eneken.laanes@tlu.ee.
Read the full article at: https://www.tlu.ee/en/taxonomy/term/84/research-fellow-post-doctoral