Head of research group (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)

Job Description

Freie Universit?t Berlin is seeking to employ a head of a research group (postdoctoral research fellow) for the Cluster of Excellence ?Contestations of the Liberal Script? (SCRIPTS).SCRIPTS analyzes the contemporary controversies about the liberal order from a historical, global, and comparative perspective. It connects the academic expertise in the social sciences and area studies in Berlin, collaborates with research institutions in all world regions, and maintains cooperative ties with major political, cultural and social institutions.The aim of the research group is to contribute to the overall problematic of the Cluster from a historical perspective. How can the assumptions of the Cluster about the ?contestations of the liberal script? after 1989 be situated in the longue dur?e of the past two centuries, including the questions of the genesis of this script and of alternatives to the liberal idea of social order. Ever since the 18th century, assumptions of the liberal ?script? have been challenged, by individuals and groups; frequently, this critique aimed at alternative visions of social order. The critique, in some cases, was directed against specific elements of the liberal ?script?; in others, it pointed to internal contradictions of the script; in yet others, it amounted to a fundamental questioning of the liberal script in its entirety. Some challenges concerned the liberal script?s claim to universality, instead proposing either a focus on particular/incompatible orders, or alternative forms of universalism. Did such conflicts over the liberal script increase over time? Did challenges follow a specific logic, did they resemble each other? Were challenges primarily based on intellectual visions, or also linked to political movements and social practices? Were such conflicts connected, across political and cultural borders? Is it possible to write a history of accommodation with, and challenge and rejection of, the liberal script, and to periodize it??Applicants are invited to develop a project that deals with some of these questions, both empirically and theoretically. The project should address some of the issues mentioned above, but is not expected to deal with all of them. Applicants should develop a sketch for the research project as a whole (consisting of 1 postdoc position and 2 predoc positions), with a focus on the applicant?s own project, and brief remarks on potential PhD projects. The project as a whole should include comparative, transnational, or global perspectives; it should not be limited to one world region and should ideally include the world beyond the North Atlantic.Job description:- Development of a transregional research group related to the core agenda of SCRIPTSSupervision of 2 doctoral students as part of the research group- Participation in the Theory Network of SCRIPTS; liaising between historical projectswithin the Cluster of Excellence, and the Theory Network- Dissemination of research results through publications, workshops and conferences- Teaching is possible, but there is no teaching requirement

Keyskills :
Research