phd position in philosophy

The Center for Subjectivity Research (CFS), Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for a PhD position in philosophy to be filled by September 1, 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is fully funded for 3 years.

Information about CFS can be found at https://cfs.ku.dk/

Job content
The PhD position is part of a 5-year Advanced Grant that is financed by the European Research Council (ERC) and lead by Professor Dan Zahavi.

The larger project entitled Who are We? investigates what it means to feel, think, and act as part of a we. Its guiding hypothesis is that a systematic account of the we must be embedded in a more comprehensive investigation of selfhood and social cognition. The project will systematically develop this hypothesis by combining cross-disciplinary theorizing with historical scholarship. In particular, it will draw on seminal contributions from classical phenomenology. In addition to philosophers, the project will also involve social scientists (from social anthropology, sociology, social psychology and political theory).

The specific focus of the PhD project is to investigate the relation between the you and the we. A popular idea in recent philosophy, developmental psychology, and social neuroscience concerns the significance of the second-person perspective, i.e., the perspective in which one relates to another as a you – as somebody who is also attending to and addressing oneself. Although recent work on the second-person perspective has focused on its importance for social cognition and ethics, there have not been many attempts to highlight its importance for collective intentionality. Phenomenologists such as Alfred Schutz, however, have explicitly defended the idea that a you-relation is crucial for a we-formation. The PhD project should engage with classical texts in phenomenology, with recent literature on second-person engagement and with work in social theory on recognition, in order to investigate whether and to what extent reciprocity and mutual recognition are of key importance for group-membership.

The successful candidate will be working in close cooperation with philosophers and other social scientists and is expected to partake in the activities of CFS on a daily basis.

Information
For further information regarding the project, please contact the director of CFS, Professor Dan Zahavi, zahavi@hum.ku.dk

Admission requirements
Applicants need to hold a two-year Master's degree (120 ECTS) or the equivalent.

Applicants must send pre-approval of their thesis if it’s not completed at the time of the application deadline.

Applicants with a non-Danish Master's degree will have their degree assessed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in order to establish that their Master's degree is equivalent to a Danish Master's degree. Please read more at the Ministry of Higher Education and Sciences website: https://ufm.dk/en

Communication skills
Excellent communication skills in English are essential and applicants must speak and write academic English. The administration may ask applicants to document their proficiency in English at any time in the recruitment process, if considered necessary.

Qualification Requirements
The applicant’s qualifications for the scholarship are evaluated by the applicant’s general educational and academic background.  Grade average, thesis grade, language competencies, publications, and other academic activities will be taken into account.

In addition, the proposed PhD project and study plan will be evaluated with regard to originality, choice of theory and method, disciplinary relevance, and prospects for completion within the required timeframe of 36 months.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to reflect on how their project relates to present research activities at the department.

Application requirements

Project abstract
Please fill in the project abstract in the application form. Must not exceed 1.200 characters.

Project description
The application must include a detailed project description containing the overall objectives, reflections on the intended PhD project's method and design as well as a timetable. This description should make reference to the Who are We? project mentioned above.

The project proposal must not exceed 6 standard pages, corresponding to approx. 12,000 characters (including curriculum, title, punctuation, figures, footnotes and references, but excluding bibliography / bibliography). A substantial breach of this will result in the application being excluded from consideration. Furthermore, please note: Text in additional application documents (e.g. a CV) which could be considered as supplementary text to the project description will be included in the calculation of the characters in the project description.

General guidelines on how to make a research proposal are available here: https://phd.humanities.ku.dk/become-phd-student/how-to/application-requirements/project-guidelines/

CV
Including a list of publications, if available, must be submitted with the application.

Cover letter

Diploma and transcript of records
The following documentation must be submitted:

• A copy of the applicant's Master's degree diploma (if not available before the application deadline, a pre-approval must be submitted)
• A copy of the applicant's Master’s degree transcript of records (an official description of the grading scale must be included)
• A copy of the applicant's Bachelor’s degree diploma
• A copy of the applicant's Bachelor’s degree transcript of records (an official description of the grading scale must be included)

If the MA diploma and/or examination records are in another language than English, German, French, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish, please include a translation into either of these languages in your application. (Do NOT upload recommendations, publications or your Master thesis)

The recruitment process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, applicants are selected for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. All applicants will be notified whether they are passed on to assessment or not. Whereafter, the Assessment Committee is appointed by the Dean and the selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. Each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment which relates to their own application.

Afterwards selected qualified candidates will be invited for an interview. Please be advised that a positive assessment does not necessarily mean that you will be invited for an interview.

For further information on the recruitment process please see Copenhagen University’s website: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process / .

Enrolment
Enrolment as a PhD student at the Faculty of Humanities' PhD School is a precondition for employment as a PhD scholar.

As a PhD scholar at The Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, you will be supervised for approximately 180 hours distributed over 6 semesters. In addition to this, you must complete courses totalling approximately 30 ECTS. On completion of the PhD programme you must submit a PhD thesis in order to document your research effort.

Read more about the structure of the PhD programme and what it means to be enrolled as a PhD student via this link: https://phd.humanities.ku.dk/become-phd-student/what-is-it/

For more information about the PhD School, click here: https://phd.humanities.ku.dk/

Terms of employment
PhD scholars at the Faculty of Humanities are appointed under the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. According to the agreement, PhD scholars are obliged – without any additional remuneration – to perform tasks assigned to them corresponding to 840 working hours over the three years.

For further information on employment, please see the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). Please read more here: https://phd.humanities.ku.dk/become-phd-student/what-is-it/what-does-employment-as-a-phd-scholar-entail/

Please note that it is normally a precondition for employment that the applicant in question does not already have a PhD degree. Applicants who have already obtained a PhD degree will, as a main rule, be dismissed.

Terms of employment
Please note that it is normally a precondition for employment that the applicant in question does not already have a PhD degree. Applicants who have already obtained a PhD degree will, as a main rule, be dismissed.   

Contact information
For any further questions regarding the recruitment process please contact HR employee Mette Christensen, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk, please refer to ID number 211-0603/20-2H.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Faculty of Humanities invites applications from all interested candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin or religion.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11 January 2021 at 23.59 (11.59 pm) (CET).

You can alter submitted application in the recruitment system until the application deadline expires. No supplementary documents will be taken into consideration after this deadline.

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.