The post holder will work on a project titled 'Protest as democratic practice: peace movements in southern Europe, 1975-1990'. The key objective of the project is to analyse anti-nuclear and anti-militarist peace protests in selected southern European countries during the late 1970s and 1980s. The focus will be on Greece, Spain and Italy, three countries that were involved in the 1980s mobilisation cycle in different ways. Italy had been selected for the deployment of Pershing missiles and was thus a key battleground of conflicts over the Dual Track Decision. But the country had also seen a wave of left and right-wing terrorism during the 1970s and a concomitant crisis of parliamentary democracy. Spain and Greece had just returned to parliamentary democracy from military dictatorship in 1975 and 1974, respectively. They were not directly involved in the conflict over the Dual Track Decision, but experienced intensive protests against the presence of US military bases or against NATO membership more generally. Thus, all three countries were involved in conflicts over security that entailed a complex renegotiation of democratic practices in the widest sense. The project will investigate these developments through the lens of peace movement mobilisation.
The project is generously funded by an award in the context of the Max Batley Peace Studies Post Doctoral Fellowships. The Research Associate will collaborate with the project leaders in conducting empirical research with regard to Italy and Spain, preparing an international conference on the topic, and writing-up the findings of the project in articles for peer-reviewed journals. The post holder will receive substantial interdisciplinary research training by the three project leaders/investigators: Principal Investigator: Dr Eirini Karamouzi (Department of History); Co-Investigators: Dr Maria Grasso (Department of Politics) and Prof Benjamin Ziemann (Department of History).
About the Department
The Department of History is one of the most active centres for historical research in the country, with a distinguished record of internationally outstanding and innovative historical research. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) puts the Department of History third in its overall rankings and second on the quality of its publications, 42% of which were judged to be 4* or ‘world-leading’. It is worth noting that this score was achieved with under 10% of staff excluded from the assessment process – the lowest rate of exclusion of any of the top 5 ranked institutions. We also have a vibrant postgraduate research culture, and our expertise in applying digital technology to historical research informs scholarship and teaching at every level. We teach the history of all periods from antiquity to the present day, taking in Europe, South Asia, and the Americas, and attract highly qualified undergraduate and MA students.
We have an international reputation for high quality and innovative learning and teaching, delivered by staff who are both committed to providing an outstanding student experience and who are at the cutting edge of research in their own disciplines. The Department of History was rated highest in the 2015 National Student Survey among Russell Group History departments, and we pride ourselves on our commitment to small classes and research-led teaching.
Applicants should have or be close to completing a PhD in Modern History or Twentieth
Century European Politics (or equivalent experience).
For informal enquiries about this job and the recruiting department, contact: Dr Eirini Karamouzi on e.karamouzi@sheffield.ac.uk or on 0114 222 22574.
For administration queries and details on the application process, contact the lead recruiter: Lucy Dunning on l.a.dunning@sheffield.ac.uk or on 0114 222 8355
For all online application system queries and support, visit:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/applying
Job Reference Number: UOS014474
Contract Type: Fixed-term for a period of 2 years
Salary: Grade 7 £29,847 per annum