STEP - Science and Technology in the European Periphery

Universität leipzig, Centre for Area Studies, Leipzig, 01.11.2010
Bewerbungsschluss: 01.10.2010

The Centre for Area Studies invites applications for
1 position for a post-doc researcher (TV-L 13)
for a period of 3 and half years.

The Centre for Area Studies at the University of Leipzig is an
interdisciplinary research unit with overarching faculty interests. It
is dedicated to the question of which position different world regions
assume in the age of globalisation and how the understanding of these
world regions is changed by the influence of global flows of goods,
capital, persons and ideas. Working under the title of "Cultural
Encounters and Political Orders in a Global Age" the centre combines the
competences of a number of different institutes of regional study at the
University of Leipzig into a collective work program, thereby benefiting
from a larger national, as well as international, awareness.

The spectrum of the world regions studied by the centre expands from
Africa and Asia to the Americas and on into the Middle East whilst also,
of course, taking Europe into account. In doing so, the eastern part of
this latter region is regarded as a bridge to some of the other world
regions, affording it a place of special interest. Leipzig belongs to
the few German universities that, thanks to such a rich tradition of
studying various regions, possess the structure required to offer such a
broad program of study. Moreover, Leipzig also benefits from its above
average and well-developed ties with foreign universities and research
units all around the world.

The range of disciplines that has already been brought together by the
centre is diverse: from political and economic science, religious,
cultural, literature and linguistic studies to ethnology and history.
However, the central idea of the centre is to transcend these
disciplinary origins within one post-disciplinary approach to be
developed in a common effort.

The research undertakings of the centre will be supported by the
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (the German Federal Ministry
for Education and Research) until the end of 2013.

We are looking for an experienced researcher covering the field
"South Asia and Latin America in International Organisations".

We start from the assumption that over the 20th century international
organisations became ever-increasingly powerful agents of global
interaction and ask in our research program how the various parts of the
world participated in that process and how they became influenced and
entangled by it. Therefore, we are looking for a person to investigate
international organisations much more "from below" than it is currently
the case in most of the ongoing research on international organisations.
At the same time we put emphasis on familiarity with material from
regional archives and field work.

Prerequisites are:
- doctoral degree in either an area study or in a social science or
humanities subject with particular focus on the area(s) to be
investigated
- an excellent record of publications
- willingness to engage in a highly interdisciplinary collaborative
research centre
- a 1000-word project proposal addressing the general research programme
of the Centre (see www.uni-leipzig.de/cas for a detailed description)
- Proof of Proficiency in English and in the major languages used in the
regions under investigation.

We offer:
Excellent working conditions including possibilities for field work in
the region(s) under investigation
A highly competitive and stimulating working environment at a university
with an above average record of internationalisation
The possibility to qualify for further academic career by habilitation,
by teaching in Master programmes with international students and by
active involvement into the self-administration of an interdisciplinary
research unit within the university.

Please send an application (CV, copies of degree certificates, proof of
language proficiency, two letters of reference, a declaration of
interest and the project proposal by 1st October 2010 (postal date) to

Prof. Dr. Matthias Middell
Spokesperson of the Centre for Area Studies
Thomaskirchhof 20
D - 04109 Leipzig

Email: cas@uni-leipzig.de

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Centre for Area Studies
Antje Zettler
Coordinator
Thomaskirchhof 20
D - 04109 Leipzig

Email: cas@uni-leipzig.de