The Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research invites applications for fellowships starting in April 2014. The Centre will offer six to eight fellowships across the four research units. The fellows will work at the Centre for a period of six to twelve months. The fellowships entail office space in fully equipped offices and a competitive stipend commensurate with the applicant’s level of professional experience. The Fellowships are given according to the rates of the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research).
The Centre is calling for people working on „Culture“ as a limit and/or a resource for global cooperation. Within this research topic, we intend to overcome ‘substantialist’ views of culture (as a civilisational substance) as well as ‘residualist’ views (culture as a black box). The research question can be approached from different disciplinary angles and shall be elaborated in a multi- and interdisciplinary setting. The Centre is interested in the following questions:
What has, historically, been the role of cultural change for global cooperation? Does ‘time’ (for instance as experience of acceleration) have an effect on cooperation? Were there periods of change in regard to global cooperation that reflect different levels of organisations (such as villages, nation-states)? What can we ‘learn’ from those experiences for a better understanding of global cooperation in the 21st century?
Does ‘cooperation’ have the same meaning in different cultural settings? What are the implications of different historical meanings for global cooperation in the 21st century?
How can we understand and explain the proliferation of supralocal and supranational „we-identities“, their inscription into cosmopolitan norms, rules and citizenship regulation?
How do cultural differences and diversity interfere in international bargaining processes and situations (global challenges – universal rules vs. universalised rules – cultural references)? Do new technologies have an effect on rules of international diplomacy? In how far does the meaning and importance of cultural diversity have an impact on nation-, democracy-, and peacebuilding operations?
Invited are applicants from behavioural sciences, anthropology, social sciences, history as well as cultural studies, but also practitioners from governance and non-governmental organisations, social movements and networks who would like to discuss their experiences in an academic framework. Sure enough, further research perspectives beyond the four questions mentioned above, are more than welcomed.
The centre
The Centre for Global Cooperation Research is an independent research institution of the University of Duisburg-Essen, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It cooperates closely with the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) in Duisburg, the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen, and the German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn. The Centre is located at Duisburg’s Inner Harbour, which combines industrial heritage with modern office buildings and a vibrant urban culture. Close to the city centre, the Duisburg Campus with the Social Science Department and INEF is within short reach. The participation of the KWI facilitates the coupling with the neighbouring city of Essen, the lead city during the Ruhr area’s time as Europe’s Cultural Metropolis in 2010. Through the DIE, the Centre is also represented in the UN City of Bonn with its tight web of international institutions.
The Centre focuses on the cultural premises and dynamics of emergent governance structures in current world society and analyses the possibilities for global cooperation. It offers a place for reflection and exchange for researchers from the social sciences, the natural sciences, and the humanities, as well as for selected practitioners from all regions of the world. The four research units of the Centre focus on (1) The (Im)Possibility of Cooperation, (2) Global Cultural Conflicts and Transcultural Cooperation, (3) Global Governance Revisited, and (4) Paradoxes and Perspectives of Democratisation.
Fellows' Profile
The Centre looks in particular for researchers who are interested in:
a) trans- and interdisciplinary research
b) critical and culturally diverse perspectives on global cooperation
c) innovative methodological approaches and experimental ways to do and discuss their research.
Fellows conduct their research independently. They are expected to work at the Centre and to take residence in the region. We will be happy to assist fellows in their search for an appropriate apartment. The Centre is especially interested in applications from the Global South. We would particularly encourage qualified women to apply.
Applications (in English language) should contain a cover letter, a CV, a list of publications, and a short presentation of the proposed research programme (3-5 pages) plus two or three respective publications. Please indicate for which period you would like to come and mention at which level (Postdoc, Fellow, Senior Fellow) you wish to apply. Please indicate to which research unit your research project might fit best.
Applications should be emailed to fellowship-applications@gcr21.uni-due.de with the subject heading “Culture and Global Cooperation”.