Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Critical Geographies of Queer Memorials in the USA, Poland, and the Netherlands
Location: School of Geography, Faculty of Environment, University of Leeds
Category: Research
Salary: £32,548 to £38,833 p.a. Please note that due to funding limitations an appointment is unlikely to be made above £32,548
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed Term. 12 months due to external funding. Available from 1 January 2018
Vacancy posting date: Wednesday 25 October 2017
Vacancy closing date: Tuesday 21 November 2017
Are you a talented and ambitious researcher looking for your next challenge? Do you have a background in collaborative and critical qualitative research and Human Geography, Anthropology, Sociology and/or Media, Art or Heritage Studies? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research-intensive Russell Group universities and a world-class Geography department?
You will work with the Principal Investigator, Dr Martin Zebracki, and Co-Investigator, Professor Robert Vanderbeck, on the research project Queer Memorials: International Comparative Perspectives on Sexual Diversity and Social Inclusivity (QMem), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). QMem is the first major international research project of its kind to provide significant new insights into the nature of social engagement with public material monuments that are dedicated to the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people – termed ‘queer memorials’.
This research is crucial at a moment when debates are intensifying about how to commemorate LGBT history, memorialise victims of anti-LGBT violence, and promote social inclusivity through public artwork. It will internationalise the debate about memorials with sexuality content and provide novel conceptual, methodological and practical insights by drawing on case studies in three contrasting national contexts: the USA (New York City), Poland (Warsaw), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam). QMem’s unique focus will critically engage with interdisciplinary scholarship to provide comparative knowledge of how queer memorials’ key characteristics – location, material design, theme and symbolism – operate as sources of heated debates while reinforcing, subverting and creating social inclusions/exclusions in off-and-online worlds. The post will be based in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. You will also spend two months in the USA (New York City) and two months in Poland (Warsaw) or the Netherlands (Amsterdam) to carry out the required research. It is essential that you are fluent in Polish and/or Dutch.
You will have a PhD or equivalent postdoctoral research experience in Human Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, and/or Media, Art or Heritage Studies. Experience of undertaking collaborative and critical qualitative research is required. A high-quality publishing track record is essential.
Full Candidate Brief including job specification and requirements.
To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:
Dr Martin Zebracki
Principal Investigator
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3331
Email: M.M.Zebracki@leeds.ac.uk