The Department of Media, Cognition, and Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, invites applications for three 3-year PhD scholarships. The successful candidates will be affiliated with the Peoples’ Internet (PIN) project sponsored by the Carlsberg Foundation. The candidates are expected to begin October 1, 2016, or as soon as possible thereafter. 

Description of the project

“The Peoples’ Internet – Market, state, and civil society in China, Europe, and the United States” will undertake a comparative study of the internet in different world regions. Digital networks are among the most flexible and universally applicable technologies ever invented by humans. But the many significant variations in the social uses of the internet around the world remain poorly understood. The PIN project compares the current state and future potential of the internet in three centers of the global economy and world politics – China, Europe, and the United States – focusing on the interplay of civil society with the other two key sectors of modern societies: market and state.

 The PhD candidates will be an integral part of the PIN research group. They will participate both in formal project events and in informal deliberations throughout their affiliation with the project; they will have the opportunity both to pursue personal research interests and to contribute to the overall theoretical and methodological framework of PIN; and they will join a wider interdisciplinary research environment centered in the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Communication and Computing and its research group on Digital Communication and Aesthetics. In addition to coursework and other institutional obligations, the PhD candidates will undertake the following main activities:

•    six months of ethnographic fieldwork (China, Denmark, or the US)

•    review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in their fieldwork area

•    participation in analyses of population surveys

•    contributions to the dissemination of project findings and other outreach. 

PhD position # 1: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English, and in Mandarin. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include:

•    a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in the People’s Republic of China

•    a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in China

•    a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project. 

PhD position # 2: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English, and in Danish. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include:

•    a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark

•    a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in Denmark

•    a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project.

 PhD position # 3: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include:

•    a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in the United States of America

•    a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in the U.S.

•    a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project.

 Please note that the project proposal must lie within the overall framework of PIN. For further information, including a copy of the project framework, please contact the Principal Investigator of PIN, Professor Klaus Bruhn Jensen kbj@hum.ku.dk

 Please note that all applications must be submitted via the PhD School’s website by using an electronic application system. 

To see the full version of the call and information on how to apply, please visit the PhD School’s website: http://phd.humanities.ku.dk/how_to_apply/calls/ 

Application deadline: July 7, 2016 at 23.59 (CET).
 

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.