PhD scholarship

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PhD scholarship

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Offer DescriptionPhD in AnthropologyWhere to apply E-mailfrederic.laugrand@uclouvain.beRequirementsResearch Field Anthropology » Cultural anthropology Education Level Master Degree or equivalentSkills/QualificationsA high quality MA in Anthropology or in Humanities and social sciences, or in Southeast Asian studies or a related field, held by time of appointment. If the degree is not yet obtained at the time of application, a statement by the applicant’s supervisor should confirm that it will be obtained by time of appointment;Experience in Ethnography;Knowledge of Austronesia, the Pacific islands, the Indian Ocean or Southeast Asia;Interest in studying human/animal relationships;Commitment to participate to the activities organized by the LAAP;Well-developed research skills and ability in doing extended fieldwork sessions;Ability to work both independently and as part of an (international) team;Good writing skills and publicationsSpecific RequirementsExcellent command of English. Ability to speak or willingness to learn French. Knowledge ofMalay/Indonesian/Tagalog/Indigenous language or willingness to learn it will be an assetLanguages ENGLISH Level ExcellentLanguages FRENCH Level ExcellentResearch Field Anthropology » EthnologyCultural studies » Asian studies Years of Research Experience 1 – 4Additional InformationBenefitsCompletion of a PhD thesis within four years;Extended fieldworkParticipation in meetings of the project research group;Presentations of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;Participation in the training program of the LAAP Graduate School;Co-organization of workshops and conferences.Joint publicationsEligibility criteriaThe PhD position is fully funded for four years with additional funds for fieldwork and dissemination.The PhD candidate will start on October 1, 2024.Selection processApplications should be submitted from August 1 to September 1, 2024. All requested documents should be sent in PDF format. Pre-selected candidates will be invited for an online interview around mid-September. A list of two referees (with email addresses and phone numbers) will be required at a later stage of the application. You do not need to enter details about referees at this stage.Additional commentsThe ERC Advanced Grant project “Biodiversity, Local Knowledge and Zoonoses in Austronesia:Ethnography of Bats and Related Interspecific Communities ” (Interspecific 2023-2028), led byFrédéric Laugrand, within INCAL and the Laboratoire d’anthropologie prospective (LAAP) atUCLouvain (Belgium) is recruiting a fifth research PhD student.Project descriptionThe proposed research lies at the juncture of the anthropology of nature, the cultures ofAustronesia and the study of interspecific relationships. Considering that a fundamental link exists between biodiversity and the health of individuals, populations, species and ecosystems, and thatmicrobes, bacteria and viruses are key to the evolution of civilisations and living beings, we willaddress two questions: 1) In a world going through a livestock revolution, to what extent can localand scientific knowledge jointly inspire efforts to preserve biodiversity and biosafety, and rebuildsustainable relationships with living beings? 2) To what extent and on what conditions can humanshave contact with bats and coexist with them (and other animals incriminated in the spread ofzoonoses, either as reservoirs or as intermediate hosts)? We wish to answer those questionsthrough research within several indigenous groups who have lived for millennia in contact with suchanimals. Specifically, we will conduct ethnographic research at several sites across the largecultural and linguistic region of Austronesia (which coincides with the range of flying foxes, alsoknown as fruit bats) to see how different interspecific communities interact and how narratives ofvulnerability and immunity operate.The project aim is to document and understand how certain peoples maintain relationships withbats and see them and their worlds (in the sense used by von Uexküll), and the extent to whichsuch knowledge helps them live safely with these animals. The general hypothesis is as follows.Knowing that fruit bats are one of the links in the transmission of zoonotic diseases to humans andalso a part of the ecosystem used for food and trade, we hypothesise that local practices have ledpeople to maximise use of this resource while developing measures to prevent epidemics. We wishto problematize preservation of biodiversity and understanding of zoonotic diseases by takingecological and local knowledge into account, and by integrating ecological, biological andepidemiological expertise.Terms and ConditionsWe offer a grant for four years in accordance with UCLouvain financial requirements.Additional financial supports will be provided for fieldwork.Applications:Applications should be submitted in French or in English and include a:Cover letter;Detailed indications about how you will connect to the research project, how you wouldapproach the themes of the project and how your experience will help you to do research inthis direction (maximum 500 words);Curriculum vitae, including publications (if applicable);Copy of MA thesis;Work Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute INCAL-LAAP Country Belgium State/Province wallonie City Louvain-la-Neuve Postal Code 1348 Street Place Montesquieu, 1 GeofieldContact State/ProvinceWallonie CityOttignies WebsiteStreet77 rue des Fusillés Postal Code1348 E-Mailfrederic.laugrand@uclouvain.beberenice.goffin@uclouvain.belionel.simon@uclouvain.be Phone+32 (10)47.42.14+32 (0)10 47.33.51STATUS: EXPIREDShare this page

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Location

Louvain-la-Neuve, Waals Brabant

Job date

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 01:20:50 GMT

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