CBOW – Children Born of War – Past, Present and Future

One position is available at the University of Silesia within the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN) CHIBOW (Children Born of War - Past Present Future). The early stage researchers (ESRs) will work with the School of History and Cultures on different aspects of the life courses and experiences of Children Born of War (children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers) in different 20th century conflicts.

Description
The physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense and particularly so, if these children are associated with the enemy. Overwhelming evidence suggests that children born of war CBOW have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. At a global level, previous UN studies have further emphasized the lack of research on children born out of forced pregnancies in armed conflict. The proposed network addresses the described shortcomings by advancing the knowledge base through systematic analysis of lived experiences of CBOW in a variety of 20th century conflict and post-conflict situations.

The main research goal is to further our understanding of how (if at all) CBOW in conflict and post-conflict situations are integrated into society; how (if at all) militaries, governments, and nongovernmental policy makers assist this integration process; and how the children's lived experiences reflect broader societal attitudes to memories of war and vice versa. The researchers will be trained through Advanced Training Courses and workshops, topical conferences, secondments to other consortium nodes and an ambitious and carefully planned research activities benefiting from the expertise of world-leading senior academics. We are seeking enthusiastically motivated candidates with a strong academic record holding a Master degree in a relevant subject, fluency in English and other linguistic skills and subject knowledge as required by the individual research projects.

University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland, Professor R. Kaczmarek
Complex ethnicities: ethnic Germans and children of the occupation in the Upper Silesia

University of Silesia is especially interested in candidates who wish to carry out research in the field of life and experiences of children from Polish territories incorporated into the Third Reich during World War II. In particular children of the local German citizens (volksdeutsch).

The tasks of the project participants will include:
- research in archives and libraries in Poland and Germany (knowledge of German language),
- dissemination of research results at internal meetings with other members of the Project and at international scientific meetings (knowledge of English languages)
- preparation of written reports and publications.

Research Fields
History

Career Stage
Early stage researcher or 0-4 years (Post graduate)

Research Profiles
First Stage Researcher (R1)

Benefits
Benefits include annual leave, additional mobility and family allowance according to the rules for Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in an EU H2020-MSCA-ITN. The successful candidates will benefit from a wide-ranging training programme featuring local, network-wide, and external activities with many opportunities for travel to the other European partners in the network.