Two Postdoc Positions in the field of Digital Entertainment Media at Department of Media, Design, Education and Cogni...

We invite applicants interested in investigating how digital entertainment has become an essential force in shaping the rhythms and substance of our everyday life. We are looking for well-rounded candidates willing to work with experimental methodological approaches, generate empirical data, and participate in theoretical development. The positions will run for two years starting 1st February 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter. The positions are based in Odense, Denmark, and include a short research stay at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia during the employment period.

Affiliation
The two positions are part of the research project Digital Entertainment Machine (DIEM) funded by the Independent Research Fund of Denmark and led by Professor Susana Tosca, which runs from 2023 to 2026 and whose goal is to understand how ubiquitous digital entertainment affects us and to map the emerging entanglements of subjects, technologies, affect, culture, and ideas. DIEM is a media studies project, inspired by Lefebvrian rhythmanalysis, that uses a hybrid multi-method approach: qualitative interviews, digital methods, ethnography (also digital ethnography), aesthetic analysis as well as arts-based methods.

The two postdocs will take part in the project’s research group and in collective research and outreach activities, including scientific publications, arts-based workshops, and engagement with media. They are also expected to participate in the daily life of the Department, and to undertake some teaching and/or student supervision related to their research area. Office space will be provided at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Southern Denmark.

Qualifications
Candidates are required to have obtained a relevant PhD within the last four years before DFFs application deadline. Several types of leave of absence are taken into consideration and deducted when calculating PhD age. These include, but are not limited, to parental leave, sick leave, leave related to humanitarian work and care work as well as military service.

Preferred qualifications include a strong research statement; a good publication record; knowledge of relevant theoretical frameworks; and prior experience with the project´s preferred methods. Being a Danish speaker is an advantage but not a requirement. Relevant academic backgrounds include but are not limited to media and communication, digital media, anthropology, media aesthetics, science and technology, sociology and psychology.

Job content
Each postdoc will be responsible for a subproject within the general framework of DIEM and is expected to be able to conduct individual research. Candidates should, in their application, include a research statement of max. 5 pages with their own proposal as to how to address one of the two subprojects´ themes in terms of literature, methodology, and specific objects of study (media or media practices). There is no need to include a time plan or specific deliverables as those will be elaborated later in accordance with DIEMs overall structure and requirements. The two subprojects are:

• Simultaneous Engagements. This subproject´s goal is to explore the fluid space between playfulness, purposeful activities and mood regulation that emerges in our intensive everyday engagement with digital media. It will ideally focus on one or more specific media that can easily be inserted in-between daily routines, such as games, music, streaming, social media scrolling, or other entertaining media practices proposed by the applicant. The purpose is to investigate the user´s phenomenological experience, intentionality, and affective lifeworld, so qualitative methodologies are preferred.
  
  
• Collective rhythms. This subproject´s goal is to investigate the collective dimension of digital entertainment, where algorithmically aggregated contentinfiltrates individual feeds, shaped by the material specificities of each platform. The applicant should propose field site(s) that represent different kinds of collective rituals, playful engagement, and relations. The preferred methodologies are digital methods aimed at mapping what gets shared, the viral life cycles of entertainment trends, and the vast networks of remixes and hashtags that make up our collective memories. Programming skills are an advantage as a certain degree of exploratory methodological development is to be expected.

If you have any questions concerning the description of the positions, the DIEM project, or the idoneity of your own qualifications, please contact Professor Susana Tosca at [email protected]

If you are not a Danish speaking applicant, please make sure to enter the electronic application form via the English website in order to receive further information in English.

Application, salary and conditions of employment etc.
Employment as Postdoc is temporary (max. 4 years). Employment stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus, employment as postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher.

Confederation of Professional Associations), Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere i staten 2019 (the document only exists in Danish).

To qualify for the position you must have completed a PhD-degree by the time of employment.

An application must include:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Certificates/Diplomas
• Information on previous teaching experience, please attach as Teaching portfolio
• List of publications indicating the publications attached
• Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please attach one pdf-file for each publication. For any publication with a co-author, a co-author statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file.

Only material in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish will be assessed. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates.

Please attach one pdf-file for each publication. For any collective publication or publication with a co-author, a co-author statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments. We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants' qualifications. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment.

Applications should be sent electronically via the link "apply online" and the Faculty expects applicants to read the information "How to apply" before applying.

We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.