CfA: ENHANCE doctoral fellowships

The Environmental Humanities for a Concerned Europe research group is now seeking applicants for twelve PhD/doctoral researchers:

• Four PhD fellows at the Environmental Humanities Research Group at the University of Leeds (deadline: May 1, 2015)
• Four doctoral fellows at the Rachel Carson Center at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Deutsches Museum (deadline: May 15, 2015)
• Four PhD fellows at the Environmental Humanities Lab at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (deadline: April 20, 2015)

These are fully-funded positions beginning in October 2015 to participate in a jointly-organized European program with events and training hosted by each of the partners for all twelve researchers.

Environmental Humanities for a Concerned Europe (ENHANCE) is a Marie Curie European Innovative Training Network (ITN) providing multidisciplinary doctoral training in Environmental Humanities. The four main partners are the University of Leeds (UK), the Environmental Humanities Lab at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany, and the Deutsches Museum, Munich.

The main aims of the network are to provide its Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs)–12 in total across the four participating institutions–with the academic and complementary skills training needed to place them at the forefront of a new generation of Environmental Humanities research; to lay down the foundation for a structured, sustainable approach to doctoral training in Environmental Humanities at EU level; and to provide potential employment for ESRs in a wide range of careers including environmental consultancy, risk assessment, research and development, green business management, sustainable technologies media and communications, and not-for-profit work (environmental and wildlife NGOs).
Research and training will concentrate on three major areas––natural disasters and cultures of risk, history of science and technology, and environmental ethics–-and will address a series of core interlocking issues: wilderness and conservation; flooding and drought; climate change and risk; and waste, environmental health, and environmental justice.

All ESRs will be expected to work towards a doctoral degree in humanities with the aim of completing this within the fixed term of their appointment. They will also be expected to work closely with other ESRs, both at their own and at other participating institutions; to go on secondment at one or more of the ITN’s five intersectoral Associated Partners; and to link their research work with key European environmental policies including the Climate Change Programme, the European Sustainable Development Strategy, the Water Framework Directive, and Natura 2000, e.g. by examining the social, cultural, and ethical factors that lie behind such major areas of international concern as water shortage, species extinction, and global climate change.

For more information about the specific opportunities and contacts for the three research partners, please consult the research group’s website.