The School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Jacobs University Bremen invites applications for the part-time position (19,25 hrs/week) of two

Research Associates (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter/innen)

Professors Nicola Spakowski (Chinese Studies) and Marc Frey (International History) are looking for two PhD students in the area of Asian studies and Asian history, respectively. Successful candidates will be employed in the context of a research project on “Asianisms in the 20th Century”, funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft).

“Asianisms” are defined as discursive constructs of Asia as a region and political, economic, social and cultural practices related to them. More specifically, the project looks at various concepts of “Asia” as they are produced inside and outside the region and at projects of collaboration and integration in Asia. Research on “Asianisms” is motivated by the recent interest in Asia and also related to the academic literature on regionalization and the new regionalism since the 1990s. However, it also takes a long-term perspective by exploring historical instances of “Asianisms” since the late nineteenth century. The two positions to be filled concern the following fields:

1.) The Asian Games (1913-1978) (supervised by Prof. Marc Frey)
This potentially all-Asian sports contest is seen as a site where discourses on the nation and on the meaning and scope of Asia were negotiated. As such, the Games were highly political, and research on them will shed light on the complex interaction between the individual and the group, between the nation and the region, and between identity and identification.

2) „Critical Regionalism“ – Transnational Asian Discourses of an Alternative Asian Modernity (1990s to present) (supervised by Prof. Nicola Spakowski)
The project explores recent transnational discussions of critical Asian intellectuals on historical and contemporary concepts of “Asia”, Asian history and the future of Asia. It analyses contents of discussions and forms of transnational networking of civil society actors in the region.

Interested candidates should have an excellent MA degree in Asian history (project 1) or Asian studies (project 2); knowledge of at least one Asian language (preferably Japanese, Thai or Indonesian for project 1 and Chinese and/or Japanese for project 2); strong commitment to work at an English-speaking university within an international environment.

The duration of the contract is two years, with the possibility of a third-year extension. The application deadline is open. Ideally, contracts should start on June 1, 2009.

Jacobs University Bremen is an equal opportunity employer and has been certified “Family Friendly” by the Hertie-Stiftung.

Please send in electronic format (PDF preferred) a letter of application, curriculum vitae, current grades or copy of diploma, and possibly samples of the MA thesis or published work to m.frey@jacobs-university.de for project 1 and to n.spakowski@jacobs-university.de for project 2. Please have also two academic referees supporting statements sent to the same addresses.