Uppsala University, Department of Literature

At Uppsala University, unique national and international multidisciplinary expertise meets in a Centre for Women’s Mental Health during the Reproductive Lifespan, WoMHeR (https://uu.se/forskning/womher). The overarching aim for WoMHeR is to develop evidence based knowledge that can serve as basis for future strategic decisions in working life and society. An essential and important part of WoMHeR is a PhD graduate school where this PhD project is one of the awarded projects.

At the Department of Literature (https://www.littvet.uu.se), undergraduate and graduate education and research is conducted in the subjects Literature and Rhetoric. The research in Literature is broad in time and space, and scholarly interests are many. The research areas reach from Antiquity till today, and include a wide range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. There are a number of focus areas at the department. Information about the institution is found at: http://www.littvet.uu.se

Duties/Project description: Education at PhD level has a duration of four years, financed with employment as PhD candidate. PhD candidates are expected to conduct their education at the research level by working full time and by participating actively in the activities of the department and the graduate school in sustainable development. Obligatory administrative and teaching duties at the department may not exceed 20% of full-time.

The PhD student will be part of the WoMHeR graduate school and participate in an interdisciplinary project that aims at developing methods to explore the link between lived traumatic experiences and dominant forms of narrative representations of traumatic experiences. Within that project, which is based at the Department of Literary Studies, the doctoral student shall carry out research on fictional representations of the immediate aftermath of sexual assault in contemporary literature from a narratological and psychotraumatological perspective.

The doctoral student will produce a dissertation that (1) analyses contemporary literary and preferably also cinematographic depictions of rape-related trauma; (2) theorises and explores the link between experiences of rape-related trauma and literary and preferably also cinematographic narratives about them; and (3) adds to the general awareness of rape-related trauma.

The material should consist of around fifteen twenty-first century novels, short stories, films and television series where rape-related trauma constitutes a significant element of the plot. The study should be written in English and the material should cover two language areas (in addition to English preferably French, German, Italian, Spanish or Scandinavian languages).

In order for the application to be considered, the applicant is required to submit a dissertation plan, preferably in English, that clearly describes how the proposed project will be carried out, detailing theory, method and material, and sketching a preliminary time plan. The plan should also discuss the relevance of the project and explain the reasons for the applicant's interest in the doctoral school and the project. The dissertation plan should not exceed 10 pages.

In addition to the dissertation plan, the application should include the applicant’s Bachelor’s thesis and Master's thesis in Literary Studies (or some corresponding discipline), a short CV, publications (if any) as well as other relevant documents that the applicant wishes to invoke. The applicant should also include a copy of their degree qualifications and course grades and the names and contact information of at least two reference persons (address, email address, and phone number). The assessment will be based on all of these documents.

Requirements: Admittance to postgraduate education at Uppsala University requires basic eligibility and special eligibility. Basic eligibility means having completed an undergraduate education of at least 240 hp, out of which at least 60 hp should be at an advanced level, or, having completed a foreign education corresponding to at least 240 hp (Master's degree). The main subject should be Literary Studies or some corresponding discipline (for example Scandinavian Studies or Comparative Literature).

Postgraduate education in Literary Studies is regulated by the general study plan. For information on eligibility and prerequisites, see : https://www.littvet.uu.se/utbildning/forskarutbildning/

For further information about the dissertation plan and application procedure, see the website of the Faculty of History and Philosophy: https://www.histfilfak.uu.se/research/phdstudies/

When new PhD students are recruited, applicants should be selected who, after a qualitative overall assessment of competence and skill, are deemed to have the best conditions to carry out and develop current tasks, especially within the current doctoral projects, and contribute to a positive development of the research area.

The selection process will consider the applicant’s capacity to complete the education at the research level. Important documents for assessing this ability are the account of the dissertation plan put in relation to the topic of the project call, the activity at the WoMHeR doctoral school, as well as previous essays and published material. The ability to express oneself in both written and spoken Swedish and English is considered important. The language of instruction in courses and seminars at the Department of Literary Studies is usually Swedish and at the graduate school usually English. To complete the education, very good knowledge of both Swedish (Danish or Norwegian) and English is required.

Additional qualifications: It is desirable that the applicant has the ability and willingness to engage in interdisciplinary conversations. Previous studies in medicine and/or psychology can be a merit.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.

Starting date: Earliest 07-12-2020 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Head of Department Patrik Mehrens, patrik.mehrens@littvet.uu.se, 018-471 61 91 or Director of PhD studies, Anna Williams, anna.williams@littvet.uu.se, 018-471 29 61.

Please submit your application by 1 October 2020, UFV-PA 2020/2999.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Tidigast 2020-12-07 eller enligt överenskommelse.
Salary Fixed salary
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Uppsala
County Uppsala län
Country Sweden
Reference number UFV-PA 2020/2999
Union representative
  • ST/TCO, tco@fackorg.uu.se
  • Seko Universitetsklubben, seko@uadm.uu.se
  • Saco-rådet, saco@uadm.uu.se
Published 24.Aug.2020
Last application date 01.Oct.2020 11:59 PM CEST

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