UiT The Arctic University of Norway has established «The Arctic MSCA-PF program» (uit.no/project/arcticmsca) to recruit excellent young researchers planning to apply for a Marie Skƚodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) to pursue a career in research. We invite applications from promising young researchers within the field of Medical humanities. This is an opportunity to accelerate your research career while living in the urban research city of Tromsø, uniquely located at the top of the world surrounded by some of Europe’s last pristine wild nature.

This call is one of 33 from pre-selected supervisors at UiT The Arctic University of Norway through the “Arctic MSCA-PF program” (uit.no/project/arcticmsca/list-of-participants). Successful postdoc candidates will be invited for a three-day MSCA-PF symposium June 6-8, 2023 (hybrid physical/digital event, see details at uit.no/project/arcticmsca/program-structure). At this event, the candidates will present their past research achievements, discuss future plans with their potential supervisor and learn how to write a successful MSCA-PF application. The selected candidates will, jointly with the supervisor, write the MSCA-PF application by the deadline of September 13, 2023.

The selected candidate will write a proposal for a 24-month MSCA-PF at UiT in the field of medical humanities together with Prof. Linda Nesby.

My research field is within medical humanities. I have worked extensively on autobiographical illness stories (pathographies) and I run an interdisciplinary research group working on pathographies as well as next-of-kin narratives. Next of kin is a particularly under-communicated topic within the arts. I am interested in interdisciplinary research aiming at adding more research on next of kin combining the fields of literary studies, health sciences, and didactics. I like to contribute with a much-needed humanities perspective to current scholarship on the role of next of kin by investigating for instance 1) depictions of the manifold relationships existing between patients and next of kin, 2) different methods of engaging with next of kin, and 3) how humanities perspectives on the role of next of kin can best be integrated into a didactic context. I would like to explore the characteristic traits of the next of kin narrative genre, as well as the understanding of, and the expectations adhering to, the role of next of kin in contemporary Scandinavian society. Based on these findings I would like to study how literature can help students acting as next of kin to navigate their caretaker situation. Being next of kin adds value and joy taking care and helping loved ones. However, it also implies higher health risks and lower quality of life. My ambition is to shed light, understanding and practical tools for acting in the important, valuable, yet complex role as next of kin.  

Please send your CV (max 3 pages) and describe a research project that will strengthen and complement the presented research (max 2 pages) to linda.nesby@uit.no by Feb 17th 2023. Mark your application "Arctic MSCA". Successful candidates will be contacted in late March 2023.