2 wiss. Mitarbeiter*innen

The Department “Anthropology of Economic Experimentation” at Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale is offering 2 different postdoc positions; deadline 1 July/1 August 2021

Zusammenfassung

Beschreibung

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is one of the leading centres for research in social anthropology. Common to all research projects at the Max Planck Institute is the comparative analysis of social change; it is primarily in this domain that its researchers contribute to anthropological theory, though many programmes also have applied significance and political topicality.

The Department “Anthropology of Economic Experimentation” is offering 2 postdoctoral postions.

1. Position: “Transformative Intermediaries”

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking a postdoctoral scholar on the research topic of “Transformative intermediaries: infrastructure, platform, and logistics”. Contrary to the predication that technological innovations would remove intermediaries, economic operations in many sectors are more intensively mediated than before. The mediators include human agents, physical infrastructure, and technologies, particularly that of algorithms. Digital platforms, for instance, become new bases of profit and power by concentrating, upscaling, and physically concretizing intermediation activities. Does intermediation represent a fundamental mode of socioeconomic organization in the twenty-first century that is comparable to other well-established organizing principles, like reciprocity, redistribution, networks, and hierarchies? Is the means of mediation replacing both the means of production and of legitimate violence as the defining factors of political economy?
The postholder is expected to critically advance our understandings of how the global economy is being reorganized through the lens of mediation (broadly defined). Given our interest in mobilities, we particularly welcome proposals focusing on how the circulation of people, goods, and information are mediated.
The postholder must have carried out in-depth field research on related topics and be committed to broad conceptualization beyond case studies.
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Applicants should either be in possession of a doctoral degree in anthropology, sociology or a related discipline or submit evidence indicating that such a dissertation will be finished and submitted before the designated starting date.

Deadline 01 July 2021

2. Position: “political economy, global transformation, and anthropology”

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking a postdoctoral scholar who will bring together theories in political economy and in anthropology to examine a topic related to the current reorganization of the global economy. The scholar must: have carried out in-depth field research on a relevant topic; have a solid foundation in political economy theories; and be committed to broad conceptualization beyond case studies. Preferred qualities include familiarity with the latest economic theory (e.g. behavioural economics; narrative economics) and economic practice (e.g. artificial intelligence enabled financial technology).
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Applicants should either have a doctoral degree in anthropology, sociology or a related discipline or submit evidence indicating that such a dissertation will be finished and submitted before the designated starting date.

Deadline 01 August 2021

Our Offer


The postdoctoral position (TVöD E13) will be for a duration of 2 years, renewable for a third year. Employment will be on a full-time contractual basis. The workplace is Halle/Saale (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany). The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology offers a diverse, international, flexible and stimulating work environment, with support for training and professional development opportunities.

The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals.

The Max Planck Society strives to ensure gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Contact
Please submit your application materials electronically by following the link for vacancies on our homepage (under ‘Career’).

Applicants should send the following documentation:
cover letter
CV, including list of publications
2 writing samples (chapter or article length)
1-2 page summary of doctoral thesis
short (1-2 pages) proposal for the work (this will form a basis for discussion if the applicant is short-listed).
photocopies of university degrees
names of two referees


Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
Personnel Administration
Janka Diallo (jdiallo(at)eth.mpg.de)

Kontakt

Nähere Informationen

Janka Diallo

jdiallo[ at ]eth.mpg.de