Fw: GRANTS- PhD and Postdoc Positions at the MPI for Social Anthropology

----- Original Message -----
From: "Berit Westwood" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 11:06 PM
Subject: GRANTS- PhD and Postdoc Positions at the MPI for Social
Anthropology


> A distribution of: CentralAsia-L - Announcement List for Central Asian
Studies
>
>
> GRANTS- PhD and Postdoctoral Positions at the MPI for Social Anthropology
>
> Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
> Directors: Prof. Dr. Günther Schlee - Prof. Dr. Christopher Hann
> PO Box 11 03 51, 06017 D - Halle/Saale
> Advokatenweg 36, 06114 Halle/Saale
> Germany
> Tel.: +49 (0)3 45-29 27-200
> Fax:  +49 (0)3 45-29 27-202
> http://www.eth.mpg.de
>
>
> Our Institute has the opportunity to offer
> PhD and Postdoctoral Grants
> starting January 2003.
>
> Comparative research into social transformations forms the basis of our
> Institute's research program.
>
> The grants are to be award in the context of the following two programs:
>
> 1. 'Integration and conflict' headed by Prof. Dr. Günther Schlee
>
> Integration and conflict are central points of reference for the analysis
of
> the interaction of ethnic groups
> and states. The construction, meaning and communication of identity offer
an
> important field of research within this frame of reference. The analysis
of
> descriptions of the self and the other in processes of peaceful and
violent
> interaction and, in particular, the conditions of the development of
> identities in confrontations with other groups, are at the centre of this
> research project. The description and analysis of conflict mechanisms are
> also play an important role. The regional foci of this research project
are
> West Africa, northern East Africa and Central Asia.
>
> Further information can be found under Integration and Conflict on our
> homepage: http://www.eth.mpg.de
>
>
> 2. 'Religion and Civil Society' headed by Prof. Dr. Christopher Hann
>
> This research program concentrates on the examination of religion in
> postsocialist societies. The preferred regional focus is Central Asia,
> although projects in other Asian and East European states are possible.
The
> examination of religious communities and their position in postsocialist
> societies are the core of this project, together with the examination of
new
> sources of values and meanings. Within this framework, special attention
is
> paid to the 'fit' between the beliefs and practices of particular
religious
> movements and those of liberal 'civil society'. The individual projects
are
> to be based on contemporary fieldwork. Comparative approaches are
> particularly desirable.
>
> Further background concerning these projects can be found under
> Postsocialist Eurasia / Religion and Civil Society on our homepage:
> http://www.eth.mpg.de
>
> The Postdoctoral Grants are for two years (a one-year extension is
possible
> for foreigners). Post-doctoral Grants can only be awarded to scientists,
who
> have acquired their doctorate within the last ten years. The grants are
not
> taxed and freed of social security stipulations.
>
> PhD Grants are generally awarded for 2 years with the possibility of two
> six-month extensions. We expect our PhD grantees to complete a yearlong
> period of fieldwork as part of their studies.
>
> The Max Planck Society is committed to raising the proportion of women in
> underrepresented fields; we thus explicitly encourage applications by
women.
>
> Handicapped individuals will be given priority, assuming equal
qualifications.
>
> Applications should include the standard documentations and a project
> resume. Final selection will be made following interviews in late
> October-November. Please send applications and the names of two referees
> (whom we may contact for confidential references) to the following address
> before September 30th 2002:
>
> Max-Planck-Institute for Social Anthropology
> Personnel Administration
> P.O. Box 11 03 51
> D-06017 Halle/Saale
>
>
> Religion and Civil Society
>
> What follows here is a brief and preliminary outline of some of the
thinking
> behind the new Focus Theme to be introduced in the Postsocialist Eurasia
> group from January 2003. Both PhD and post-doctoral positions are being
> advertised in summer 2002. Prospective applicants are encouraged to read
> these notes, including the guidelines at the end, and to contact Chris
Hann
> ([email protected]) if they have further questions.
>
> The concept of religion and its place in modern society has been a
prominent
> theme in the social sciences from their inception, e.g. in Max Weber's
> analysis of the links between Protestantism and Capitalism, or in Karl
> Marx's dismissal of religion as the 'opiate of the people'. In the case of
> Emile Durkheim, religion was central to his sociological theorizing, and
the
> tradition that insists on view-ing religion as a reflection of the social,
> as 'society worshipping itself', has had enormous influence on
> anthropological explorations of the religious field in all types of
society.
> In Durkheim's lifetime, the Catholic Church was still a rather reactionary
> public force in France, and the sociologist hoped that his own science
might
> provide the basis of a new morality or conscience collective. A century
> later, an Enlightenment model that would confine religion to the 'private
> sphere' is still strictly maintained by the French state. However, this
> model is problematic for some minority religious communities, and other
> western European states regulate church-state relations quite differently.
>
> The proposed new Focus Theme is concerned with those parts of Europe and
> Asia that experienced socialist rule. Given their long-term historical
> differences, together with contrasting experiences of the socialist period
> itself and its aftermath, it is unsurprising that there is considerable
> diversity in this field today. Possible topics for investigation include
the
> current position of 'dominant churches', such as the Roman Catholic Church
> in Poland. This example retained its strength in Polish society throughout
> the Socialist period. The position of the Orthodox Church in a country
such
> as Georgia is rather different, given the stronger history of repression
in
> the Soviet Union. Nonetheless this church (like its sister church in
Greece)
> also claims a special relation to the nation-state, and tends to be
> intolerant of 'new', rival religious currents. The Central Asian
republics,
> where Islam dominates, also offer many possibilities to explore how far
> different religious currents are compatible with 'liberal' notions of
civil
> society.
>
> Some projects are likely to focus on smaller communities of faith and
their
> position in the postsocialist 'religious marketplace'. These might be
> subdivided into 'revivals' of older traditions, perhaps lacking any formal
> organization (e.g. shamanism in many parts of Siberia), established
> 'minority religions' (e.g. the Jewish tradition), and new religions (e.g.
> American-sponsored Protestant and 'sectarian' groupings).
>
> Alternatively, some work in the new Focus Theme might pursue a more
general
> concern with the establishment of new sources of values and 'meaning', now
> that the secular utopia promised by socialism has been exposed as a
failure.
> Is it because the options available for a new secular morality are so
> limited that many people prefer to hold on to the ideals of socialism? In
> what sense, if any, do the successor institutions (political parties, but
> also other organs now establishing a new place in civil society) continue
to
> substitute for religious faith as conventionally defined?
>
> All project proposals should be based on new fieldwork, part of which
should
> be concerned with the specialists or activists of the community, while
part
> should follow up their impact in different social circles and the networks
> of civil society. While the political significance of religion is one
> obvious source of interest (e.g. links to the (re)assertion of national
> identity), other possibilities include investigations of the pertinence of
> religion for entrepreneurial success, status, educational strategies etc.
>
> There is no rigid insistence on one specific theoretical perspective or
> methodological orientation. However, in addition to a basic Durkheimian
> concern with the social significance of religion and ritual, the situation
> of the post-socialist countries does lend itself particularly well to
> theories concerned to address the dynamics of religious change - with the
> transmission of faith in the 'private sphere' in times of public
repression,
> and with the re-establishment of institutional structures when this
> repression is over. This implies that some projects might, at least in
part,
> be concerned with recovering the 'secret histories' of religions under
> socialism.
>
> Applications for support to work in any part of the post-socialist world
are
> welcome. Local projects are possible: our Institute is located in East
> Germany, where the number of atheists remains significantly higher than in
> the West. Particular encouragement is given to applicants proposing work
in
> Central Asia, where it is hoped to set up a number of linked, comparative
> projects. Individual projects may themselves involve comparison, but need
> not do so necessarily. It is expected that all applicants should have some
> familiarity already with the languages that they need for their proposed
> fieldwork, and also with the theories and methods of social anthropology
(as
> a new research Institute we are not in a position to provide basic
> training). Normally this means that a prospective PhD student should have
a
> Masters level qualification in anthropology, but there are cases in which
it
> is possible to relax this criterion.
>
> All applications should include a CV, a brief research proposal (maximum
of
> two pages), and the names of two referees, to whom we may write for a
> confidential reference.
>
>
>
>