Research Fellow - Literary Networks

Job summary

The Research Associate on the 'Literary Networks' strand of Knowing the Secret Police will be based at the University of Birmingham for two years and will be supervised by Prof. Sara Jones. In this context, she or he will carry out primary independent research on how knowledge of the Stasi was acquired and circulated in the GDR literary sphere. He or she will disseminate the findings of this research in high-quality peer-reviewed publications. The RA will also assist Jones in data collection for the 'Representation as Knowledge' strand of the research, which explores how the Stasi was portrayed in unpublished literary works. He or she will support project administration and overarching project work.

Person Specification

Knowledge (inc. qualifications)

Essential

• First degree in the humanities or social sciences
• PhD relevant to research area in history, German Studies or cognate discipline
• Expertise in historical approaches including archival research

Desirable

• Experience of qualitative interviewing

Skills

Essential

• Fluency in German and English
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to conduct independent research
• Highly developed ability to communicate complex information clearly both orally and in writing
• Ability to contribute to the planning and organisation of the research project
• Ability to co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort

Desirable

• Proven ability to publish research findings in high-quality peer-reviewed journals
• Demonstrable experience in project administration and/or relevant organisation

Experience

Essential

• Experience of carrying out individual or collaborative research projects
• Experience of archive and/or text-based historical research
• Experience of writing up research work for academic readerships
• Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently

Desirable

• Organisational and/or administrative experience in research
• Experience of working in the archives of the BStU and with institutions of Aufarbeitung and/or civic education in Germany
• Experience of qualitative interviewing
• Experience of publishing research as either sole or joint author
• Experience of working in interdisciplinary groups

Further information

The interview panel will consist of Dr Sara Jones (UoB), Dr Joanne Sayer (Co-Investigator from Newcastle), RA (Newcastle) two-Birmingham based colleagues at lecture level. She will confirm the two Birmingham colleagues at a later date.