Subject: H-ASIA: Position PhD position, Manga Research, 'Beyond Utopia:
New Politics, the Politics of Knowledge, and the Science Fictional Field
of Japan' Leiden University
From: "Frank Conlon"
Date: Fri, March 12, 2010 4:53 pm
To: H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-ASIA
March 12, 2010
Position: Modern East Asia Research Centre, Leiden University, The
Netherlands - PhD position (research on political expression in manga) -
'Beyond Utopia: New Politics, the Politics of Knowledge, and the Science
Fictional Field of Japan'
************************************************************************
From: H-Net Job Guide:
JOB GUIDE NO.: http://www.h-net.org/jobs/display_job.php?jobID=40314
Modern East Asia Research Centre, Leiden University, The Netherlands - PhD
position (4 years) (research on political expression in manga) - 'Beyond
Utopia: New Politics, the Politics of Knowledge, and the Science
Fictional Field of Japan
Location: Netherlands
Institution Type: College/University
Position Type: Doctoral Fellow
Submitted: Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Category: Political Science/International Relations
Secondary Categories: Research/Professional
Philosophy
Media Studies
Fellowships/Grants/Interns
Asian History or Studies
The Modern East Asia Research Centre (MEARC) at Leiden University, the
Netherlands, invites applications for a 4-year PhD position within the NWO
VICI research project Beyond Utopia: New Politics, the Politics of
Knowledge, and the Science Fictional Field of Japan. Principle researcher
is Prof. dr. Chris Goto-Jones, Professor of Comparative Philosophy &
Political Thought, Leiden University.
Successful candidates will begin their position preferably in August 2010
and are expected to complete their thesis within four years.
Project description
Recognizing that, since the end of the Cold War, political theorists
around the world have embarked upon a deliberate quest for difference and
innovation in their discipline, triggered by the apparently world historic
victory of liberal capitalism, this project aims to uncover a series of
sites of difference and innovation. In particular, it locates itself in
two kinds of distancing: geo-cultural (ie. in the non-European space of
Japan) and medial (ie. in innovative expressive media). Utilizing
the techno-media of anime, manga and video games, and focusing on the
radical potentials of the genre of speculative science fiction, this
project aims to analyze and model a series of political visions as
potential alternatives to liberal capitalism, hence contributing to the
field of political thought.
Furthermore, acknowledging that these widely popular techno-medial
products utilize different grammars of expression from conventional,
text-based media, this project seeks to formulate a research methodology
for scholars to employ for critical interventions into these fields.
Accepting that the dimensions of the public sphere change with time and
technological developments, and hypothesizing that the public sphere in
many contemporary societies is now informed by this techno-politics, at
stake is the ability of scholars to remain in touch with (and persuasive
in) political realities: new forms of literacy are required if scholars
seek to remain involved in the new public sphere. This project attempts to
outline those forms of literacy, as implied by the rapidly globalizing
force of Japanese anime, manga and video games.
PhD subproject
The PhD project will focus primarily on investigating political expression
in manga
The goals of the PhD project are:
An analysis of the ways in which manga express political meanings and its
impact on the public sphere (in Japan and elsewhere), and hence the
development of a sense of what it means to be politically literate in
manga;
An analysis of the political positions/theories that are explained or
explored in manga, relative to existing ideas in the canon of political
thought.
The deliverables of the PhD project are:
a PhD thesis;
a conference paper.
Teamwork with the other researchers on this project (a PhD candidate
working on political expression in videogames, a PhD candidate working on
the political expression in anime, a PostDoc and the principal researcher)
is essential.
The PhD candidate may also be asked to contribute to associated teaching
programmes in the later stages of the project.
Requirements
Candidates should hold an MA degree or equivalent. Preference will be
given to candidates with:
an MA in Political Science/Thought or Philosophy and a demonstrable
knowledge of modern Japanese;
an MA in Japanese Studies and a demonstrable specialization in Political
Thought, or Philosophy;
an MA in Media Studies, with demonstrable expertise in Political Thought
or Philosophy and in Japanese language.
Outstanding research qualities manifest in a high-quality MA thesis or
equivalent;
Excellent command of English
Offer
MEARC offers a fulltime (38hrs/week) PhD position for a limited period of
4 years. The salary of the PhD candidate is EUR 2.042,- gross per month
in the first year, increasing to EUR 2.612,- gross per month in the fourth
year, based on fulltime employment (in accordance with current salary
scales as set out in the collective labour agreement for Dutch
Universities).
How to apply
Applications can be emailed (PDF format only) to the following email
address: info@mearc.eu
The deadline for applications is 1 May 2010
Only applications emailed on or before this date will be accepted.
In order to apply, the applicant must submit the following:
a curriculum vitae;
the MA thesis or other major writing sample (preferably in English);
an academic transcript;
name and contact details of two referees;
a short research proposal of up to three pages
a letter of motivation.
NB Each document should contain the applicants name (preferably in the
header or footer of the document)
Further inquiries
For further inquiries, please contact Esther TRUIJEN, info@mearc.eu
For information about MEARC, please visit www.mearc.eu
For more information about the project, please visit www.asiascape.net
Contact Info:
Esther Truijen
Manager
Modern East Asia Research Centre (MEARC)
Leiden University
PO BOX 9515
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands
Phone: + 31 71 5274172
Email: info@mearc.eu
Website: http://www.mearc.eu
No comments:
Post a Comment