Job summary:

Five-year contract for a PhD researcher in areas related to comparative studies. The researcher should assist, first of all, the research group UTOPIA and, secondly, the research group DISTRAE. The candidate will contribute to the national and international profile of the Centre for Comparative Studies (organising conferences, projects, thematic networks, international publications) and be able to carry out the necessary organisational tasks for that purpose.

Job description:

I.

The Centre for Comparative Studies seeks candidates who have completed their PhD in areas related to the position offered and have three years of postdoctoral experience. They should also have experience in research activities in comparative studies and demonstrate ability to work in team, developing projects that fit the CEC research profile. Knowledge of English and of a romance language, as well as knowledge or definite intention to learn Portuguese are required. International experience in research management and in university teaching shall be preferential requirements in the selection of the candidates. The main tasks of the research fellow will be:

ESSENTIAL

To assist in the preparation of projects organised by group UTOPIA (utopias, travel writing, orientalism)

To assist in the preparation of projects organised by group DISTRAE (postcolonial studies, translation, inter-cultural studies)

To contribute to the national and international profile of the Centre for Comparative Studies (organising conferences, projects, thematic networks, international publications)

To carry out administrative and organisational activities

DESIRABLE

Interests in philosophical and sociological studies may also be an advantage 

II.

The research fellow will have a central role in the Strategic Development Plan of the Centre for Comparative Studies (CEC). Under an overarching research line entitled Comparative Studies: Artistic, Social and Cultural Practices, this plan takes into account the recent expansion and development of the centre, fuelled and promoted by FCT. In the last two years, CEC has grown significantly, both in terms of the overall number of active researchers (including Phd researchers) which participate in its activities as well as in terms of the number of national and international projects currently in progress. In order to facilitate this expansion, new research groups were formed which have allowed the centre to re-organise the projects in wider and more supple areas of interest. The research fellow will facilitate the institutionalisation and development of the newly formed groups. The fellow will help us to establish links between the different projects that are already underway in this centre, introduce new insights and activities and further internationalise the centre's work and results. The appointment of a full-time researcher will be fundamental for CEC´s development strategy as it will guarantee the leadership and supervision of new projects and create connections between those that already exist. With this strategic plan, CEC intends to increase networking with different national and international research units, with programmes of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and with academic associations, giving rise to exchange and collaboration between them and contributing to the training, supervision and integration of students coming from the B.A. degree in Comparative Arts and Cultures (interdepartmental degree under the Bologna protocol) or from the postgraduate programme on Comparative Studies. Within this strategy, the creation of dual and joint degrees of MAs and PhDs with international institutions will be a priority. In short, and to sum up, our four main strategic lines are:

1.       To prepare the progressive institutionalisation of the research line of Comparative Studies: Artistic, Social and Cultural Practices, with several projects already implemented and new ones to be developed.

2.       To reinforce the international profile of CEC through joint international projects, management of existing thematic networks, creation and implementation of new ones, collaborations and protocols, establishment of international graduate studies, international publications, mobility of researchers and activities.

3.       To strengthen of collaboration between research units and postgraduate, undergraduate and professional associations.

4.       To disseminate research work through conferences, lectures and publication at international level.

The postdoctoral research fellow to be appointed will be attached to the research line described above, and will be a key figure in the strategic development of the Centre. He/she will be expected to collaborate in the projects already outlined, in order to guarantee full academic cooperation between groups, increase and multiply networks and collaborations with other national and international institutions, manage existing ones, and enhance the international profile of the centre and its collaborators.

Furthermore, it is expected that the research fellow to be appointed may eventually create and lead his/her own projects, always in close collaboration with the strategic priorities of the centre, the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon and related institutions. The presence of full-time research staff will provide the opportunity to respond to challenging projects, and an increased capacity to organise and coordinate scientific events and responsibilities. Finally, he/she will be expected, as part of the workload, to collaborate occasionally with graduate and postgraduate programmes as needed, connecting research projects with the life of the university and its students.

The research fellow will be part of the research team and scientific committee of this research unit, where he/she can develop and manage work in close collaboration with other members of the research team, taking advantage of protocols with other university institutions, in an atmosphere of interdisciplinary dialogue, both at a national and an international level. For more information see www.comparatistas.edu.pt

III

Application's documents: Applicants should send: i) a letter stating their interest, motivation and qualifications, as well as explaining how their profile is an asset for the positions to which they apply (this letter should be written n English); ii) copies of degree certificates; iii) CV with a list of publications (the CV should be written in English); iv) copy of an identification document (ID card, passport or other); v) other documents considered relevant.

Please include job reference in all application materials.

Application's Evaluation: Two-step evaluation. A list of pre-selected candidates will be invited for an interview. The jury reserves the right not to fulfil the posts in the absence of qualified applications.

Application deadline: 10 September 2008

5-year position, base salary: 43k€ (annual)

Candidates should have a minimum of 3 years postdoctoral research experience. In exceptional cases, duly justified, FCT may consider accepting applicants with less than 3 years of post-doctoral experience.

Please note: The funding for this call and the final appointment of these positions are dependent on the approval from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia of the pre-selected candidates proposed by the University of Lisbon.

For more job opportunities in the University, of Lisbon please consult CIÊNCIA 2008/PostDoctoral positions www.ul.pt

FURTHER DETAILS 

1. Type of contract: Fixed term contract

Application deadline: 10 September 2008

2. Organization contact data 

Organization/institute: Centro de Estudos Comparatistas - Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa

Address:

Alameda da Universidade

Lisboa - 1600-214

Portugal

Email: cec@fl.ul.pt

Website: http://www.comparatistas.edu.pt/

3. Required education Level 

Degree:  PhD researcher in areas related to comparative studies. Postdoctoral three years experience required. 

Degree field:  Literature

4. Required languages 

Language: English 

Priority: n/a

Reading: Excelent

Writing: Excelent

Comprehension: Excelent

Conversation: Excelent

5. Required research experience 

Main Research Field: Literature

Research Sub-Field: Comparative literature

Years of Research Experience: 3 years

6. Selection Committee 

Name: Helena Etelvina de Lemos Carvalhão Buescu

Name: Susan Bassnett

Name: Theo D'haen

To apply:

Application's documents: Applicants should send: i) a letter stating their interest, motivation and qualifications, as well as explaining how their profile is an asset for the positions to which they apply (this letter should be written n English); ii) copies of degree certificates; iii) CV with a list of publications (the CV should be written in English); iv) copy of an identification document (ID card, passport or other); v) other documents considered relevant.

Please include job reference in all application materials.

Application's Evaluation: Two-step evaluation. A list of pre-selected candidates will be invited for an interview. The jury reserves the right not to fulfil the posts in the absence of qualified applications.

The Centre for Comparative Studies of the Faculty of Letters (University of Lisbon) supervises and develops its activities within three main areas, without dismissing other eventual interdisciplinary connections which are essential to the advance of the scientific work.

• Intercultural Studies, including the study of travel literature, utopian texts, and translation; European Literary and Cultural Studies, privileging the importance of the Portuguese situation within the wider European framework without neglecting Lusophone connections; Intersemiotic Studies, including the investigation of the relations between literary discourse and other artistic practices such as film, theatre, painting, and architecture.
• Literary and Cultural European Studies, considering the Portuguese geopolitical and cultural position within the wider European framework, the focus will be placed on the European context, both synchronically and diachronically, although not neglecting Lusophone connections, as well as the significance of the West/East polarity.
• Interart Studies, including the investigation of the relations between literary discourse and other artistic practices such as film, theatre, painting, and architecture (adaptation, illustration, "ekphrasis"). This research is breaking new scientific ground within the Portuguese context, contributing to closing the gap in this particular field of study. Coordinator: Helena Carvalhão Buescu. Academic advising committee: Susan Bassnett (University of Warwick), Theo D'haen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), Vítor Manuel de Aguiar e Silva (Universidade do Minho), João Almeida Flor (Universidade de Lisboa).

     The Centre follows the organisational and management procedures set up by FCT: a scientific director, who works closely with all the researchers, namely with the directors of the ongoing projects; a scientific board, which meets and is heard every time there are questions of scientific policy to be decided; an external advisory board, composed by four elements (two from different Portuguese research units; two from foreign European universities). This structure, at the same time stable and flexible, has proven to be adequate to develop CEC's activities and open up to different projects in the future.
     Without loosing sight of a disciplinary specificity, which brings together all of its members, CEC is especially interested in pursuing what has been its major goal: establishing a powerful scientific network in comparative studies in Portugal, and therefore connecting different areas that, although being related, have not yet found systematic institutional sites for their growth. The Groups now active (PROFILE, THELEME, INTIMACY, UTOPIA, DISTRAE, and MORPHE) all reflect the way CEC's activities highlight the diverse, but also extremely fertile scientific ties that we try to establish and develop, with the strong conviction that scientific knowledge is best pursued with an open, however disciplinary oriented, agenda.