The Department of Culture and Language is offering one fully funded 18 months postdoc position starting on January 1, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The postdoc will be based at SDU, Odense.
We are seeking a highly motivated candidate to undertake postdoctoral research as part of a three-year research project (PAID) led by Assistant Professor Cecilie Bjerre (University of Southern Denmark) funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark’s Inge Lehmann Programme.
Short presentation of the research project:
PAID explores the history of Danish welfare state’s involvement in establishing paternity in the twentieth century. The project examines the interplay between scientific ideas, technology, experiences, and welfare state practices in order to understand the techno-political evolution of paternity in Denmark, and their different implications for men, women, and children. Establishing paternity has far-reaching consequences for those involved, while also raising societal and political ethical dilemmas: Who gets to be recognized as a father, and who gets to have a father? The answers to these questions have changed over time, especially with the introduction of new reproductive technologies. PAID addresses significant societal concerns that remain relevant today.
Job Description:
The postdoc will investigate how different practices involved with establishing paternity produced varying outcomes and effects on the involved mothers, children, and men. The postdoc project could (but does not to have to) take its point of departure from one of the focus areas listed below:
Greenland: The Exception
This focus area centres on the legal exception on paternity in Greenland. The Child Act of 1937 left children of Greenlandic mothers and Danish fathers legally ‘fatherless’. Despite this, more than 8,000 children were left without legal fathers up until 2014, when the legally fatherless were retroactively allowed to open a paternity suits. The conventional argument has been the impossibility of transporting blood type tests from Greenland to Copenhagen. But how can we understand this exception?
The Nordics: A comparison
Until 1960, Denmark and Norway allowed for several ‘fathers’ to be sentenced in a paternity case, whereas Sweden and Finland only allowed the most likely father to be sentenced to pay child support. In 1960, there was harmonization between the Nordic countries, allowing only one father to be recognized, citing the best interest of the child. But how can we understand the different trajectories within the Nordic countries? This focus area could also narrow its focus to one of the Nordic countries and the practices involved in establishing paternity.
Assisted Reproductive Technology and Paternity
In 2021, nearly 10% of all children born in Denmark were conceived with the assistance of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The advent of ART led to the establishment of the Ethical Council (Etisk Råd) in 1987. Since then, numerous new ethical dilemmas have arisen alongside technological advancements and evolving societal demands. New legal and social understandings of paternity and fatherhood emerge when more children are conceived with ART, such as with anonymous sperm donors. Additionally, DNA plays a significant role in how we understand family bonds and kinship relationships. This focus area could examine the establishment of the Ethical Council in 1987 and its involvement with paternity, or the new legal and social ideas about paternity with the advent of new reproductive technologies.
Requirements:
- All candidates must have a PhD in history, ethnography, sociology, gender studies or a related subject.
- The PhD must have been obtained within the last four years by the time of commencement (January 2025). The requirement is that a maximum of 4 years has elapsed from the date of acquiring the PhD degree to the application deadline. The 4 years can be extended by the duration of any parental, sick leave, or caregiving leave, military service, humanitarian aid work, etc. undertaken during this period. In connection with parental leave, the PhD age can be extended by the number of months of leave actually taken multiplied by 2.
- The candidate must have proficiency in at least one of the Nordic languages (for reading sources, etc.) and in English.
- Once appointed, the postdoc is expected to contribute to collaborative work in the project, which may include co-authoring and co-organizing conferences or seminars
For further information, please contact the Head of Department Per Krogh Hansen at pkha@sdu.dk, or about the project and ideas for projects, Cecilie Bjerre at cbjerre@sdu.dk.
If you are not a Danish-speaking applicant, please ensure that you use the English website to access the electronic application form to receive further information in English.
Application, salary and conditions of employment
The employment as postdoc is temporary. Employment stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus, employment as postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher.
The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations), Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere i staten 2021 (the document only exists in Danish).
The application must include:
- A research proposal outlining your approach to the project (max 2000 words).
- A letter stating your specific interest, motivation, and qualifications for the project (400 words).
- Curriculum Vitae with applicant’s e-mail and phone number
- Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.)
- Complete list of publications indicating the publications attached
- Applicants may choose a maximum of three publications for assessment
Application and all appendices must be in Danish, English or one of the Scandinavian languages. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates. We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants’ qualifications.
The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.
If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.
Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment. Here you can read more about shortlisting at SDU.
Applications should be sent electronically via the link “apply online” and the Faculty expects applicants to read the information “How to apply” before applying.
We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
Deadline: September 2, 23.59 CET
