PRR Project

Summary

Rationale for the ICS-ULisboa Strategic Planning : Over the years, ICS-ULisboa has developed the study of emerging tensions between collectively shared aspirations of well-being and socio-political vulnerabilities in the contemporary world.  Social Anthropology analyses these tensions from the perspective of subjective experience, in relation to evolving global conjunctures. This approach has revealed its strength by renewing the long tradition of ethnographic studies while embracing new technical and political realities. It also provides a methodological focus and a theoretical and comparative framework aimed at capturing the biopolitical dimensions of these tensions, how they are lived and expressed.ICS-ULisboa focuses on the study of contemporary urban contexts, marked by the circulation of people, techniques and knowledge. One important issue has been the relationship between forms of body management and processes of subjectivisation when faced with the hegemonic forces that structure the global political economy. In particular, we focus attention on the implications of Portugal’s relatively peripheral position in the European community. This dimension is specifically captured in studies focussing on bio-corporal issues.Hiring a Principal Researcher in studies on the human body and its forms of management and sustainability in technically complex urban environments will enable consolidation of this topic at ICS-ULisboa, creating synergies with the ERA Research Chair on ‘Imagination’ currently under review at Horizon Europe.  The Researcher will therefore contribute to maximise the crossover between the RG Diversities: Ethnographies in the Contemporary World research and the studies on urban environments and their futures, which, at the ICS-ULisboa, form part of the TL Sustainability . Also, it will make a contribution to developing the relationship between urban studies and vulnerability issues dealt with in the TL Inclusion and Vulnerabilities . Required Scientific Profile : In addition to a demonstrated interest in the topic, the PhD Researcher to be recruited should have: a) a PhD in Anthropology; b) a relevant CV in the field of Social Anthropology, with particular emphasis on internationalization (e.g., international publications, and/or book publications, participation in research networks, experience in project-based research and outreach activities); c) a solid training in diverse fieldwork techniques, including experimental and collaborative ethnography; d) proven experience in initiating innovative, cutting-edge research; (v) proven experience in coordinating and teaching post-graduate courses; e) a track record in highly competitive funding; f) experience in coordinating teams, and supervision of PhD thesis; and g) experience in co-development of recommendations to decision-makers in both private and public sectors.??????? Tasks to be assigned : The Principal Researcher to be recruited will carry out activities in the field of Social Anthropology. These activities include (a) designing research projects for national and international calls; (b) coordinating research teams and leading the implementation of research  projects; (c) conducting training activities, namely through contribution to the Workshop in Ethnography that integrates RG Diversities; (d) supervising Masters and PhD students in ICS-ULisboa, namely in the PhD program in Anthropology, and/or the upcoming international post-graduation course Multiple Lives: new trends in ethnography; (e) proposing outreach interventions based on research findings and integrating the current plans for outreach in ethnographic-led areas; f) contributing to academic management at the ICS, namely sustaining the excellent mark in the PhD program in Anthropology by developing research-led teaching.The Researcher will develop activities contributing to several TLs, but especially within the Inclusion and Vulnerability and the Sustainability TLs , and to activities that support the consolidation of knowledge in the research group Diversities currently depending on many precarious and retiring researchers. The LabPub – laboratory supporting discussion on upcoming submissions of paper; the permanent Seminars of the RG where international speakers debate their ongoing research with the group; and the Workshop in Ethnography where different topics from ethical and positionality in the practice of fieldwork to ethnographic writing is discussed.