Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Digital Humanities

Four postdoctoral positions in digital humanities are available at HUMlab, Umea University, Sweden from January 1, 2007 (the actual start date may be later). The postdoctoral fellowships are for one year with a possible extension of one year. Applicants will be expected to have a Ph.D. in a humanities discipline and a specialty in any of these four research areas: participatory media, digital cultural heritage, digital art, and electronic literature. In exceptional cases, other areas and backgrounds can be of interest as well.

About HUMlab:
HUMlab is a humanities IT environment at Umea University in Sweden. The basic idea behind it is to stimulate innovative cooperation in a dynamic interdisciplinary setting. Here the humanities and the arts on one hand, and modern information and media technology on the other, interface and collaborate, both in real terms and virtually. HUMlab attracts students, lecturers, researchers, artists, engineers, media people and many others. In this unique technological and creative studio space, a lot can, and does happen. A wide range of activities are organized including a high-level seminar series and workshops. Among recent guests to HUMlab are Katherine Hayles, Henry Jenkins, Jane McGonigal, Willard McCarty, Sachiko Hayashi, David Theo Goldberg and Michael Valeur. HUMlab maintains a broad range of national and international contacts and work closely with these as well as the whole humanities faculty at Umea University, other parts of the university and local cultural and business organizations. HUMlab also participates in and supports a large number of exciting research and educational projects. Current projects encompass areas such as digital archives, computer games, weblogs, retro gaming, virtualization of language and visualization in the Humanities. Methods and technology used include geographical information systems, datamining, social software, grid computing and different types of virtual worlds.
Now HUMlab will take a step further into the future. A new initiative to support research in digital humanities has just been launched which incorporates the advertised postdoctoral positions and other strategic actions. The primary focus is on four broad research areas: participatory media, digital cultural heritage, digital art and electronic literature. As part of this program, the physical space of the lab will be expanded and almost doubled during 2007 (total area of studio space: 6000+ square feet). The new HUMlab will afford rich contextualization and visualization of complex materials and multi-faceted research problems. The long-term goal is to establish a national and international center of excellence in the humanities and information technology.

Profile:
You are expected to have a PhD degree in a humanities discipline from an international (non-Swedish) university. You may not have been employed by Umea University or had a postdoctoral scholarship at the university. The intention is to have all postdoctoral positions affiliated both with HUMlab and an appropriate department at the Humanities faculty. We are looking for applicants with documented interest in any of the four research areas, and a willingness to engage with digital humanities more broadly. You need to have excellent written and oral proficiency in English. HUMlab is a lively and convivial studio space with a wide variety of activities, research, technologies and cross-disciplinary interaction. It is expected that you will contribute to such an environment and you also share our interest in working with traditional humanities disciplines and other related areas. Furthermore you will be expected to participate actively in any of the four research groups associated with the initiative. Therefore you will need to live in Umea during the post doc period.

Offer:
The salary will be in the range of 15 500-17 000 SEK a month (tax free) depending on experience and family situation. Other benefits may be negotiated. Accepted postdoctoral researchers will have full access to the facilities of HUMlab, special resources for the specified research area and different kinds of support. It is possible to start as early as on January 1, 2007, but the start date is negotiable.
The postdoctoral fellowships have been made possible through generous support from the Kempe Foundations.

Information and application:
Your application should be submitted by November 30, 2006. The application should contain the following documents:
•A complete curriculum vitae.
•A letter of application with a description of your postdoctoral project, including alignment with the chosen research area, the purpose of the project and expected outcome (limit: 2,500 words).
•Two letters of recommendation.Your application should be sent to [email protected] (preferred) or by post to Registrator, Umea University, 901 87 Umea, Sweden. Make sure to specify the following reference number: 315-3985-06.
Please feel free to contact
Dr. Patrik Svensson, Director of HUMlab
Email: [email protected]. Phone: Int + 46 90 786 7913.
Professor Kjell Jonsson, Chair of the HUMlab Steering Group
Email: [email protected]. Phone: Int + 46 90 786 9680.
for more information.
See http://blog.humlab.umu.se/ for more information about HUMlab.

Additional information about Umea University and Umea:
Umea University is a full, comprehensive university with some 28,000 students. It is located in the city of Umea in the North of Sweden (see map here). There is some more information about Umea here: http://www.umu.se/umu/eng/about/karta_varlden.html.
This page contains logistical information (getting to Umea etc.):
http://www.umu.se/international_office/living.htm.
There is also an English university website:
http://www.umu.se/umu/index_eng.html