After July 22 and the massacre on Utøya, Norwegians have been forced to attempt to understand extremist discourse online, and it is clear that we need more research on this topic. My department (Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies at the University of Bergen) has a 4-year PhD fellowship available for a humanities-based project on online extremism and I would encourage anyone interested to apply or to let people who might be interested know about this. We are very open to what kind of extremism should be the focus of the project and to which methods and disciplinary perspectives are used, so long as it is within the scope of one of the disciplines represented in our department: Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Digital Culture, Greek, Latin, History of Art, Scandinavian Languages and Literature and Theatre Studies. See the complete description below for details. DEADLINE JAN 15! http://www.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=88851 We are also advertising open fellowships, where digital culture is one of the possible areas. We have a strong program in digital aesthetics, digital humanities and critical perspectives on technology and society. Please get in touch if you have questions. http://www.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=88850 Applicants must have a research-based MA and submit a five page project description with their application. You must have contacted an advisor at the dept. Norwegian PhDs pay well, NOK 416.300 (a bit over USD 70,000) a year, and the four-year job includes 75% research (on your PhD project) and 25% teaching. One semester's work (30 ECTS) is coursework, and conference presentations and participation in doctoral consortiums of your choice can be included in this. You also would qualify for Norwegian welfare rights, such as parental leave, subsidised childcare etc. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions, or need help finding an advisor in the department. I'd also appreciate it of you spread this to anyone who'd be interested! Jill Walker Rettberg Professor of Digital Culture University of Bergen http://jilltxt.net --------- PhD research fellowship earmarked research on online extremism A PhD research fellowship earmarked research on online extremism is available at the Department of Linguistic, Literary, and Aesthetic Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Bergen from 1 August 2013. The project must be based in one or more of the disciplines taught at the department (Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Digital Culture, Greek, Latin, History of Art, Scandinavian Languages and Literature and Theatre Studies). Events in the last years have shown that extremism online is more widespread and more serious than commonly thought, and that extremism can take different shapes in different contexts. There is a need for more research in this area. The Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies at the University of Bergen therefore invites applications for a four-year PhD. fellowship to study extremist discourse and rhetorics in social media. The project should analyse a selection of extremist discourse on the internet, and applicants must explain their choice of this selection in the project description. The material to be analysed can be Norwegian or from another cultural context. For example, the project might focus on a selection of blogs, on comments from readers in online newspapers, on YouTube videos and comments, on discussion fora, on Facebook groups, on image use or other extremist forms of expression and communication online. The analysis might focus on language, rhetoric, ideology, visual aspects, aesthetics, discourse or social networks. The applicant must explain how the concept "extremist" is understood in the project, and what theoretical framework is used. We are open to analyses of all kinds of extremism, whether left- or right-wing or not clearly connected to the conventional political axis, such as extremism within discussions of gender, the environment, religion or animal rights. Research on historical development might also be of interest, for example using archived material from the internet, or following a community or topic over time, or comparing extremist discourses online with extremist expressions in historical media. Qualification requirements Applicants must meet the formal requirements for admission to the PhD programme at the University of Bergen. The University requires the equivalent of a master’s degree (i.e. 3 years bachelor and 2 years master, 300 ECTS altogether). Applicants must have completed their master’s degree at the time of application. Please note: Applicants must have completed their master’s degree in the actual subject area at the time of application. The applicant’s research project must be connected to one of the research groups within the department. See: http://www.uib.no for an overview. Make sure that the name of the supervisor at University of Bergen is given in your application letter. The candidate’s main supervisor must be permanently employed at the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies. Please contact the department’s Head of Research Tor Trolie about this (see below). About the position The fellowship’s main goal is to lead to a PhD degree, which qualifies for independent research activities, and for other work that requires particular competence. The fellowships are awarded for a period of four years. The research and educational part of the fellowship is 75%, while 25% is dedicated to teaching and other work for the department. An agreement concerning the actual work load has to be signed by the candidate as soon as he/she takes up the post. The successful applicant will be expected to have her/his main residence in Bergen, and to conform to the regulations that apply to the position. Salary Salary will be in accordance with level 50 (code 1017/frame 20.8) on the Norwegian government salary scale, currently NOK 416.300 gross p.a. following ordinary meriting regulations. A compulsory 2% contribution to the State Pension Fund (Statens pensjonskasse) will be deducted from gross salary. Additional information Further information about this fellowship can be obtained from the department’s Head of Research, Associate Professor Tor Trolie +47 55 58 29 65, e-mail:tor.trolie@lle.uib.no<mailto:tor.trolie@lle.uib.no>, or from the department’s Research Officer, Håvard Peersen tel. +47 55 58 20 58, e-mail:havard.peersen@lle.uib.no<mailto:havard.peersen@lle.uib.no>. State