[FoME] LMU Munich: Online media & Hindu identities among Indian diaspora - PhD and Postdoc positions at LMU Munich

[Christoph Dietz]

>>> Carpentier Nico <nico.carpentier at vub.ac.be> 21.06.2017 23:34 >>>

*Postdoc and PhD positions at LMU Munich
*
*beginning January 2018
*
*new media political cultures, India, diaspora

Ludwig Maximilian University Munich is one of Europe’s leading research
universities with more than 500 years of tradition.

The Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty for
the Study of Culture invites applications for fully funded

*one postdoctoral and two doctoral positions for the ERC project
ONLINERPOL*

ONLINERPOL (www.fordigitaldignity.com
<http://www.fordigitaldignity.com>) is a five year research
project (2017-22) on political cultures of new media in India and the
diaspora. The project is funded by the European Research Council
Starting Grant.

ONLINERPOL explores new media practices in India and the diaspora in
Europe, and examines the relationship between expanding Internet media
and the politics of national belonging mediated by
secular-religious-liberal fissures. The project is carried out by a core
team of researchers based at the Department of Social and Cultural
Anthropology, in cooperation with the Department of Communication and
Media Research, LMU Munich, and a global network of collaborators.

We seek energetic and committed applicants who can design projects on
new media and political cultures, and creatively connect with the
objectives of ONLINERPOL.

*PhD positions (3.5 years)*

_PhD position 1:_

/Ethnography of online media, political cultures and Hindu identities
among the Indian diaspora in the UK and Germany/

The project will carry out an ethnographic study of online practices
and narratives around national belonging/Hindu nationalism among the
Indian diaspora in the UK and Germany. The project will closely follow
particular social media sites and user groups (Facebook/Twitter or
website/online discussion group).

_PhD position 2: _

/Ethnography of online meda, poltiical cultures and Muslim identities
among the Indian diaspora in the UK and Germany/

The project will carry out an ethnographic study of online practices,
Muslim identities and narratives of national belonging among the Indian
diaspora in the UK and Germany. The project will closely follow
particular social media sites and user groups (Facebook/Twitter or
website/online discussion group).

The broad objective of the doctoral positions is to understand the
dynamics of online use cultures as they mediate diapora experiences and
political cultures of national belonging, and how they bring about new,
real-time connections between diasporic locations and homeland politics.
In both the projects, ethnographic fielwork among online users will be
supplmented with an analysis of the design and organization of sampled
Facebook groups, Twitter handles or websites, and the social texts and
activities they have generated.

Candidates with a background in anthropology, media and communication
studies, or cultural studies with regional interest in South Asia are
invited to apply. PhD researchers will participate in specially designed
reading courses on anthropology of digital media; media and religion;
and digital media activism, with opportunities to enrol for other 
courses at the university.They will also have an opportunity to
assist/offer undergraduate courses on media anthropology. Candidates
will take part in various project related activities, including
workshops, conferences and social media contributions. Doctoral
positions are funded (TVL E13 50%) for 3.5 years. The project will cover
fieldwork expenses and participation in international conferences.

*Postdoctoral position (2 years)*

/New media and political Islam in India/

The study will map and analyze online media engagaemets of a major
organization for political Islam in India (for eg., /Jamaat-i-Islami/)
using ethnographic techniques and discourse anlaysis. How does the
organization engage, organize and regulate its online presence? How does
it engage online debates on national belonging and what are the 
implications for historically configured politics of religious
difference? How is authority affirmed and reconfigured in light of the
emerging online Muslim publics?

Candidates with a background in anthropology, media and communication
studies, cultural studies, or Islamic studies with regional interest in
South Asia are invited to apply. The posdoctoral researcher is invited
to co-design and co-teach the courses on media and religion, and digital
ethnography, and actively participate in planning and organizing project
related offline and online activities. Postdoctoral position is
contracted with TVL E13 100% salary for 2 years. All fieldwork expenses
will be covered, and participation in international conferences will be
fully funded.

****

Successful applicants are expected to begin on or by *1 January 2018*.

Proficiency in English is needed. Net savviness is highly desired.
Successful candidates will be part of an exciting multidisciplinary
conversation on new media, with opportunties to partner with the core
research team based in Munich and a global network of collaborators.

*Our offer*

**

The university is centrally located in Munich and can be reached very
easily by public transport. We offer a stimating work atmosphere with
opportunities for further education and growth. Differently abled people
are given a priority.

Send your application (cover letter, 2 page proposal with a clear
research plan and timeline, updated CV, 2 writing samples , names of two
referees and copies of degree certificates as a single pdf) by email to
ONLINERPOL at ethnologie.lmu.de
<mailto:ONLINERPOL at ethnologie.lmu.de>with the subject line
ˊApplication for doctoral/postdoctoral position 
ONLINERPOLˊ or by post to

Prof. Dr. Sahana Udupa

Professor of Media Anthropology

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Ludwig Maximilian University

Oettingenstr. 67

D-80538 Munich

Telefon

+49 (0)89 2180-9614

*Deadline for submission: 31 August 2017. *

Queries may be addressed to onlinerpol at ethnologie.lmu.de
<mailto:onlinerpol at ethnologie.lmu.de><mailto:sahana.udupa at lmu.de>.
For more on the project visit www.fordigitaldignity.com
<http://www.fordigitaldignity.com>