The ERC Socialist Medicine research group at Humboldt University in Berlin is looking to hire a postdoctoral research fellow for two years
The deadline for applications is April 17, 2024.
Socialist Medicine pushes the boundaries of global health history by shifting the focus of research in terms of place, people, and institutions to the socialist world: a constellation of Eastern European, Asian, Latin American, and African countries connected through political ideology, expert networks, economic development and aid, and military interventions, in fluctuating intensity throughout the Cold War. The research project is based at Humboldt University in Berlin, and funded by an ERC Starting Grant.
Socialist Medicine is looking to hire a postdoctoral research fellow for two years, starting September 1, 2024.
Job Description:
◦Scientific services for research within the ERC Starting Grant “Socialist Medicine: An Alternative Global Health History”
◦ Original archival research with a thematic focus on either:
◦ Socialist ideologies that informed the development of healthcare systems in state socialist countries, Western welfare states, and/or newly independent states, exploring the various concepts that contributed to such systems and the practices employed
◦ Histories of medical technologies in socialist contexts, especially pharmaceutical and biotechnological research, production, and distribution from a scientific, economic, and political perspective
◦ Existing and perceived material and financial shortages and shortcomings in socialist countries, and technological and scientific expertise ideas of development, aid, solidarity, collaboration and exchange in shaping global health structures
◦ Examining the ways local initiatives fed debates at national and international levels to analyze the interaction of political ideology and public health practices
◦ Particular focus on the political and professional networks between Western welfare states and/or among states in the socialist world in shaping health systems
◦ Contributing to project aims such as academic event organization, public dissemination of research results, publications
Requirements:
◦ Completed academic degree and doctoral degree (PhD) (desired) in History or related fields
◦ Experience in archival research in various geographic locations
◦ Working language skills in two or more languages
◦ Peer-reviewed publications (or submitted/accepted manuscripts)
interest in interdisciplinary research with public health, medical anthropology and sociology
◦ Ability to work independently and collaboratively in research teams
◦ Excellent English communication skills
For further information or questions, please contact Prof. Dora Vargha: dora.vargha@hu-berlin.de.
Please send your application in English (including cover letter, research proposal, full CV and relevant certificates) quoting the reference number DR/026/24 to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of History, Prof. Dora Vargha, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin or in electronic form as a single PDF file to dora.vargha@hu-berlin.de.
The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is seeking to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and specifically encourages qualified female scholars to apply. Severely disabled applicants with equivalent qualifications will be given preferential consideration. People with an immigration history are specifically encouraged to apply. Please submit copies of your documents in the application only.
For more information regarding application requirements and processes, please click here.