Competition to a Research Fellowship (with a master degree and doctoral student) to work within the European project TOLERACE – “The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism in Europe: Public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective” (SSH7-CT-2010-244633).

RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

The Centre for Social Studies (CES) – Associate Laboratory – of the University of Coimbra (Portugal) (www.ces.uc.pt) is offering a Research Fellowship (with a master degree and doctoral student) to work within the European project TOLERACE – ‘The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism in Europe: Public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective’ (SSH7-CT-2010-244633), funded by the European Commission, in the following terms:

a. Project Description:

The TOLERACE project (www.ces.uc.pt/projectos/tolerace) proposes a multidisciplinary, comparative analysis that seeks to explore – in a contextualised fashion – how the different meanings given to (anti-)racism and tolerance are embedded in wider ideas and discourses on citizenship and identity in different European contexts.

b. Scientific Area:

Social and/or Human Sciences.

c. Position description:

CES is looking for a Doctoral Student with academic experience in the areas of (anti-) racism, critical race theories, postcolonial studies and critical discourse analysis. The researcher will work mainly on dissemination activities aimed at the diffusion of the project’s results and recommendations among target audiences such as European and national policy makers, anti-racist activists and journalists.

d. Requirements and preferential admission criteria, with the corresponding weighting:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent academic experience) in Social Sciences and Humanities (25%);
• Knowledge and interest in current debates on (anti-)racism, critical race theories and postcolonial studies (20%);
• Excellent skills in spoken and written English and Portuguese. Additional languages are welcome (20%);
• Excellent communication skills, including written and presentation (20%);
• Willingness and ability to develop as a researcher within the areas of the project (15%);

e. Working plan:

The Research Fellow to be hired will participate in the following Work Packages:

• WP6 - Synthesis of the project
• WP7 - Dissemination activities

S/he will be expected to collaborate in the following tasks:

• - conception and production of materials for the dissemination of research findings (e.g. toolkit, booklets);
• - translation of dissemination materials into Portuguese;
• - participation in extension activities (e.g. debates in schools);
• - the organisation of academic events (e.g. international conference, advance training courses; workshops);
• - assistance in the drafting and proofreading of the project’s final report.

The research fellow will be involved in CES academic activities, namely in those scientific events that will allow her/him to enlarge her/his knowledge and competences on the areas under discussion; s/he will also participate in the meetings organised in collaboration with the other partners of the project. All activities described above will be coordinated and supervised by the executive coordinator and the rest of CES team.

f. Legislation and applicable regulation:

Law No. 40/2004, of August 18th (Research Fellow Statute) and Regulations for Fellowships at the Centre for Social Studies.

g. Work place:

The tasks will be performed at the facilities of the Centre for Social Studies in Coimbra or other location necessary to implement the working plan, under the scientific supervision of the Principal Investigator and the Executive Coordinator. The post may involve some travel away from Coimbra, on occasion.

h. Duration of the fellowship:

The grant will last 3 months, starting on 1st December 2012. The fellowship may be extended, until the end of the project based on the good performance of the developed activities, defined in its working plan, and on the coordinator’s assent.

i. Monthly maintenance stipend:

The monthly stipend will be 1.000 Euros. The payment of the Voluntary Social Insurance and the Personal Accident Insurance is added to this amount.

j. Other conditions offered:

A dynamic scientific environment, regular participation in conferences and seminars and access to libraries, including CES’s ‘North/South Library.

k. Selection methods:

The applicants will be selected based on a curricular evaluation. In case of similar curricular evaluations, the best selected applicants will be evaluated through an Interview, to take place in Coimbra.

l. Composition of the Selection

• - Silvia Rodríguez Maeso(president)
• - Boaventura de Sousa Santos (permanent member)
• - Maria Paula Meneses (permanent member)
• - Marta Araújo (permanent member)

m. Results publication/notification

The competition final results will be published in a list posted at the Centre for Social Studies facilities and the selected applicant will be notified through e-mail. The competition results will be sent to the remaining applicants through e-mail.

n. Deadline for applications:

November 15th, 2012

o. Application presentation:

All candidates meeting the required criteria are invited to submit their application, including:

• 1. Letter of motivation (up to 500 words).
• 2. CV (maximum 10 pages).
• 3. Copies of transcript of grades (Bachelors, Master and PhD degrees).
• 4. One reference letter.
• 5. Copies of publications, papers submitted for publication or essays in the topics addressed by the project.

The applications must be sent by postal mail, with the expedition date stamp until the last day of the competition, to the following address:

A/c Dr. Silvia Rodríguez Maeso
Ref. CES-BI/30/2012
Centro de Estudos Sociais
Colégio de S. Jerónimo, Apartado 3087
3000-995 Coimbra, Portugal