PhD fellowship in the field of Post-Conflict Speculations: Imagistic Anticipations in the Shadow of Russia (5+3)

The Graduate School at Arts, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, in collaboration with AUFF NOVA (Aarhus University Research Foundation), invites applications for a fully funded PhD fellowship in Post-Conflict Speculations: Imagistic Anticipations in the Shadow of Russia provided the necessary funding is available. This PhD fellowship is available as of 1 September 2024 for a period of up to three years (5+3). The candidate who is awarded the fellowship must commence his/her PhD degree programme on 1 September 2024. 

The fellowship will be part of the collaborative research-project “Post-Conflict Speculations”, funded by AUFF NOVA, which examines local speculations about what life in the presence of Russia might be in the future, and explores the forms of speculations that exist which focus not only on the potential of escalation but also on the potential of peace. In order to approach speculation not only as verbalized, the project employs and develops imagistic methods. That is, in combination with classic anthropological methods it will focus on, and collect data related to, local literary and visual representations of that with is imagined to reside in the future. While studies of post-conflict are usually conducted after conflicts have ended, this project will examine how post-conflict realities are shaped, through anticipatory actions, as conflicts unfold. Doing so, it aims to produce theoretical insights into the role of speculation and anticipation in everyday life.

The proposed PhD project is expected to supplement the other subprojects which each work in a specific context bordering Russia (US/European space-race politics, environmental concerns and entanglement in the Arctic, ethics of care in Central Asia, border politics in China, and urban activism in the Caucasus). While the thematic focus is open, preference will be given to a project focusing on a context in the Baltic Sea region (excluding Denmark). Aside from writing a dissertation, the candidate will be responsible for curating a podcast series and partake in an edited volume.

The PhD student must have a Master’s degree in anthropology or a related discipline and previous fieldwork experience.