About the position

The Department of Language and Literature offers two full-time, 3-year positions, as PhD candidate and Postdoctoral fellow, to take part in the project ‘The Invention of the Lottery Fantasy: A Cultural, Transnational, and Transmedial History of European Lotteries’, funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR). The project is set to start in January 2022.

The successful applicants will be expected to contribute with individual and collaborative research within the project, which explores the cultural foundations underlying the emergence of state-sanctioned lotteries in Europe and their impact on the economic and political development of the modern European state. The project will examine how the cultural figure of the ‘lottery fantasy’ – the dream of sudden, life-changing wealth – was transmitted, criticised, transformed, exported, and played with in European print culture, in the eighteenth century and today.

The project is based at NTNU, Trondheim, and builds on the university’s long tradition of research within eighteenth-century studies. It has an attachment to the local research group ‘LACES’ (Literary and Cultural Eighteenth-century Studies). The project also involves extensive collaboration with scholars at other European universities (including Cambridge, Utrecht, and Klagenfurt). The successful applicants will be encouraged to spend part of the time at a collaborating university within the project network.

The applicants are expected to include with their application a short proposal (5-10 pages) presenting a project description and situating their individual research within the larger project. Individual projects that address German culture or contain a comparative and transmedial perspective are particularly desirable. The complete project proposal can be obtained by contacting the project leader, Marius Warholm Haugen: marius.haugen@ntnu.no.

Duties of the position

• publish peer-reviewed research within the framework of the project
• co-edit a scholarly anthology in collaboration with the project leader
• take an active part in the project’s outreach work
• contribute to the organisation of the project

Required selection criteria

A postdoctoral research fellowships is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions. You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree, within literary studies, cultural history, art history or other fields relevant to the project. The position requires excellent written and oral English language skills.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

Preferred selection criteria

• good reading skills in at least two of the languages covered by the project (English, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, the Scandinavian languages)
• experience within eighteenth-century studies
• experience with archival research
• experience with, and interest in, popular dissemination of Humanities research

Personal characteristics

• Personal suitability to enter cross-disciplinary research teams is a prerequisite
• well organised
• the ability to work independently
• good social and collaborative skills

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

The employment period is 3 years, with the possibility for up to one year of additional teaching.

Postdoctoral candidates are placed in code 1352, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 545 300 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include:

• Certificates and diplomas
• List of publications
• A project proposal of 5–10 pages situating your contribution within the project’s work packages, including a progress plan
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 works)
• Name and address of three referees

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Project leader Marius Warholm Haugen, telephone +47 410 45 587, email marius.haugen@ntnu.no.  If you have any questions about the recruitment

process, please contact HR adviser Åse Marit Skarholt, email: ase.marit.skarholt@ntnu.no.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number HF 21-002 when applying.

Application deadline: 15.04.2021

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Language and Literature

We conduct research and teaching in comparative literature, English, French, Spanish, German, Scandinavian studies, linguistics, phonetics, applied linguistics, sign language and interpreting, and cultural history. We are also responsible for the five-year master’s programmes in teacher education (lektorutdanning) in language subjects. The Department has an active research environment with responsibility for several large research projects. The Department of Language and Literature is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Humanities.

Deadline 15th April 2021
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service NTNU Dragvoll