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Doctoral student in artistic research in theatre

Employer
LUND UNIVERSITY
Location
Lund (Stad), Skåne (SE)
Closing date
1 Dec 2020

Doctoral student in artistic research in theatre

Lund University, Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts,

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition. 

The Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts is one of eight faculties within Lund University and includes Malmö Art Academy, Malmö Academy of Music and Malmö Theatre Academy, also Inter Arts Center and Choral Centre South. The Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts offers Bachelor and Master programs in visual art, music and drama, and various courses of different extent. The Faculty also runs third cycle (postgraduate) studies and artistic research and music education.

Malmö Theatre Academy, located in the centre of Malmö’s creative Möllevången district, is part of the Malmö Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts at Lund University. The Academy is a place of study or workplace for more than 100 people.

The education assignment is 60 full-year places in the form of freestanding courses and first, second and third cycle programmes in theatre. Malmö Theatre Academy aspires to be a leading educational and research department in the field of theatre as well as a relevant and open platform in Malmö. We offer particularlypromising and motivated students and researchers a clearly profiled and international environment that prepares them for a challenging and changing profession.

Malmö Theatre Academy is now recruiting a doctoral student in artistic research in theatre with a specialization in new forms of documentary theatre.

Artistic research at Malmö Theatre Academy

Artistic research is academic research based on the artistic skill and experience of its practitioner. Conducting artistic research implies creative use and critical assessment of one’s artistic medium for approaching topical problem areas within or outside the arts field. The outcomes change our knowledge and understanding regarding those areas and, thereby, contribute to the overall development of arts, research and society.

On the future of documentary theatre 

This call in the field of performing arts focuses on the study of the inter- and transmedial potentials of contemporary documentary theatre. In times of increasing globalization, digitalization and mobility, traditional cultural hierarchies and forms of production have been challenged by new technologies, e.g. interactive ones, not least in the media field. This has resulted in new patterns of cultural consumption and participation. The performing arts, based traditionally on the physical encounter between performers and audience, will need to develop strategies to relate creatively and critically to this paradigm shift. This call is addressed to artist-researchers working in the field of documentary theatre, who are interested in and capable of studying the ways how the new technology can be used for 

– expanding, diversifying and transforming the artistic possibilities of documentary theatre,

– increasing its accessibility and the diversity of its audience,

– opening critical perspectives on our presumably “common” reality, and

– providing new models and devices for education. 

Through this call, Malmö Theatre Academy addresses the problem concerning the impact of the fast-changing media landscape on the 21st-century theatre and its audiences. The call continues the Academy’s traditions in the field of study of inter- and transmedial theatre-making.

The participation of the doctoral students in the department’s breadth of activities is an essential part of the studies.  In practice, this means that the doctoral students are to take part in the Academy’s meetings and actively contribute to the bilateral development between research and education on the basis of their personal input. Besides their research studies, doctoral students are supposed to a limited extent to partake in teaching, developmental tasks and administration pursuant to Chapter 5 Section 2 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). This type of work requires regular attendance at the academy and presumes in principle that the doctoral students live within commuting distance of the academy.

Qualifications

Only those admitted to a third cycle study programme may be employed as doctoral students. A person is qualified for a third cycle study programme in the arts if they

  • have completed a Master’s degree,
  • meet the course requirements of at least 240 credits within theatre study programmes or comparable study programmes, of which at least 60 credits obtained in the second cycle or
  • have acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in some other way, within the country or abroad. 

The specific entry requirements for artistic research studies are met by those who

  • have submitted a plan and purpose for an intended project and had it assessed and approved by the admissions board, 
  • have conducted independent work of such a nature as to enable the assessment of the applicant’s suitability for the study programme,
  • have artistic expertise in relation to the main area of study, theatre, or other relevant link to artistic activity within the field, and
  • are assessed as possessing other abilities required to successfully complete the programme.

Grounds for assessment

In connection with their application, applicants are to present their intended research project in a research plan. The plan is to include a project description and an outline of the implementation of the project. The grounds for selection among the candidates are the applicant’s qualifications at the time of application. After an initial selection, interviews will be conducted with the most qualified applicants. If necessary, the admissions board may request additional documents.

The foremost criterion for selection is the applicant’s suitability for artistic research work and their ability to benefit from the research studies programme. In order to assess this, the following criteria are employed:

  • the artistic quality and feasibility of the project within the stated timeframe (i.e. over a period corresponding to four years of full-time study),
  • the quality of the research plan, its relevance, originality, research issues and method description with regard to the specific topic area of this call (as described above), as well as its links and relevance to the international field of artistic research, and
  • the department’s wishes for specialization and ability to provide supervision. 

The fact that an applicant’s previous studies or professional activities are assessed as transferable credits for the research studies programme is not to give that applicant any precedence over other applicants in the selection process.

See also general syllabus for artistic research studies in theatre: https://www.performingarts.lu.se/en/research/research-studies/general-syllabi

Provisions for employment as a doctoral student are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). In the appointment process, the main emphasis is to be on the applicant’s ability to benefit from the research studies programme.

Applications are to include

  • a project plan (5–10 pages) for an intended artistic doctoral thesis project, containing the aim, methods, schedule and form of documentation,
  • certified list of qualifications and certified qualification documents, and
  • documented artistic work within the field of theatre.

Applicants only applying for admission to research studies, without employment as a doctoral student, are in addition to attach a certified study finance plan for the entire period of study (maximum 4 years in case of full-time studies and maximum 8 years at half-time rate of study).

Interviews are planned to take place in December 2020. 

Application process

We encourage candidates to apply electronically via the Lund University applications portal. Complementary documents, in the form of bound publications/equivalent are to be sent to: Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, Lund University, Box 8084, 200 41 MALMÖ. The registration number is to be stated in connection with documents sent by post. The application is to contain a CV and other documents the applicant wishes to highlight for the current appointment.

Conditions of employment

Form of employment: Fixed-term employment, for a maximum of four years at full-time study rate.

Contact

Esa Kirkkopelto, Professor, Head of Research, +358-400-792594, esa.kirkkopelto@thm.lu.se

Ditte Maria Bjerg, Head of Department, +4640-325595, +4670-2666907, ditte.bjerg@thm.lu.se

Kent Sjöström, Ass Professor, +4640-325578, 070-6689310, kent.sjostrom@thm.lu.se 

Sven Bjerstedt, Ass Professor, +4640-325578, sven.bjerstedt@thm.lu.se

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts. 

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