Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Abteilung Haushalt und Personal

Faculty of Theology

The German–South African, DFG- and NRF-funded IRTG Transformative Religion trans­disciplinarily investigates the impact of religion in processes of social transformation and the impact of these transformations on religion in contemporary global societies with an intercontinental perspective. It seeks to contribute to recent academic research and public debates on the complex relationship between religion and society. Against the backdrop of discursive differences in perceiving and positioning religion in the field of knowledge between the global north and the global south and with a distinctive decolonial approach, this IRTG aims at a critical epistemology through which the situatedness of religious knowledge production and reception in processes of social trans­formation can be researched. In case studies from contexts in the global South and North, the IRTG seeks to investigate religion as specifically situated knowledge function­ing as a resource and as a site of social transformation. It engages scholars from two continents and a variety of disciplines to go beyond conventional research approaches. The research focus of the IRTG unfolds in the following four research areas: national identity; development; migration; healing.

For detailed information please refer to: www.transformative-religion.org.

job description:

• scientific services in research within the framework of the DFG-funded Re­search Training Group (RTG) "Transformative Religion: Religion as situated knowledge in Social Transformation Processes"
• pursuite of an own dissertation project related to one of the IRTG’s research areas within the overall thematic framework of the IRTG

requirements:

• excellent master’s degree or comparable qualification in the subjects: anthropology/ethnology, religious studies, cultural studies, sociology, african studies, theology, political science or related disciplines (ordinarily candidates should be located in faculties of humanities, social sciences and / or theology; candidates applying without a completed master’s degree will need to convincingly justify that they will obtain degree before 01/01/2025, in those cases, admission will be conditional on the successful completion of the degree)
• substantially above average academic profile
• willingness to spend some time abroad
• agreement to pursue the doctoral project under the guidance of the principal investigators of the international research training group “Transformative Religion“ and at Humboldt University
• proficiency in written and spoken English as well as in any other language required for the successful implementation of the planned doctoral project
• cultural sensitivity and ability to work in a highly transdisciplinary and inter­nationally composed team
• ability to work independently
• desire to complete the doctoral dissertation within the time frame of three years

recommended:

• study, work or research experience in a foreign country or at a university other than the current one will be considered asset
• prior knowledge in the thematic field of the IRTG and the research area ap­plied for is an asset
• prior publications will be considered an asset
• voluntary engagement and / or prior work experience in the thematic field or research areas of the IRTG, especially in decolonial or antiracist contexts will be considered an asset

Applicants are required to submit their application documents (a letter of motivation, including indications on prefered supervisors; full CV; list of publications, if applicable; transcripts of the academic records (degree certificate if master’s has been completed, otherwise the current grades overview; letter of recommendation by the applicants master thesis supervisor, speaking to the academic qualification of the applicant; concise proposal of the planned PhD or postdoc project, the proposal of strictly 10 pages (3.000 words / 20.000 characters) should include an outline of the state of the art of the relevant literature, the central research question(s), the planned methodology and the envisaged time plan of the project, the proposal should also indicate to which of the IRTG’s four research areas the planned PhD project is related) until 06/05/2024 and quoting the reference number DR/047/24 to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Faculty of Theology, Prof. Meireis, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany or prefer­ably in one pdf file (SURNAME_FIRSTNAME) via e-mail to transformative-religion@hu-berlin.de.

Since application materials will not be returned, we ask you to send only copies of all documents.

HU is seeking to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching, and specifically encourages qualified female scholars to apply. Researchers from abroad are welcome to apply. Severely disabled applicants with equivalent qualifications will be given preferential consideration. People with an immigration background are specifically encouraged to apply.

Data protection information on the processing of your personal data within the

framework of the advertisement and selection procedure can be found on our Website: https://hu.berlin/DSGVO.

Please visit our website www.hu-berlin.de/stellenangebote, which gives you access to the

legally binding German version.