Doctoral research fellowship in Philosophy on the issue of Global Justice

Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas

A PhD Research Fellowship (post code 1017) in the field of Philosophy is available at the University of Oslo’s Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas. The position is to be part of the research project ‘Who Owns It? – Land claims in Latin America: their moral legitimacy and implications”, directed by Gerhard Øverland (Philosophy, University of Oslo) together with Christian Barry (Philosophy, Australian National University) and Jemima García-Godos (Human Geography, University of Oslo).

The aim of the project “Who Owns It?” is to investigate the legitimacy of land claims by both indigenous and non-indigenous communities in Latin America, and to explore the morally permissible means that these communities can adopt to vindicate justified land claims. Three kinds of argument can support the idea that communities have a legitimate claim to some land or territory. The first argument is based on the idea that because these communities (or their ancestors) were unjustly dispossessed of their land, and are being kept in poverty due to their continued exclusion from the land, the State and persons such as those who currently occupy their land have a responsibility to rectify past injustice, and to reform the current legal order which perpetuates it. The second argument is based on the idea that, because the community is in severe need and the State and affluent persons are in a position to alleviate their need at moderate cost, they have a responsibility to do so. The third argument appeals to the idea that, even if the State and current occupants of the land did not cause or could not have prevented unjust exclusion from the land from happening, they have a duty to compensate the wronged community because they have benefited from these injustices. Our project will evaluate the force of these three types of arguments in relation to the land claims of disadvantaged persons and groups in Latin America - focusing in particular on Mexico, Brazil and Chile.

The successful candidate will be working on an individually developed doctoral dissertation connected to this project. Candidates should submit a proposed project description on a theme related to the project. A full description of the project is available at: Who Owns It? - Land claims in Latin America: their moral legitimacy and implications"

The candidate who is accepted must participate in the Faculty of Humanities’ researcher education program (cf. regulations and supplementary provisions for the faculty’s researcher education) and must also engage in the designated research activities on a 100 percent basis. The designated aim of the project is to complete a doctoral dissertation to be defended at a public disputation for the Ph.D.-degree.

The position is available for a period of three years, starting 1 October 2011.

Qualifications

A Master degree or equivalent in Philosophy.
As a prerequisite the candidate must demonstrate good language skills in English, language skills in Spanish and/or Portuguese are a plus.

Personal Skills

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the quality of the project description and on the academic and personal ability on the part of the candidates to complete the dissertation within the given time frame.
The candidate must demonstrate good cooperative skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic partnerships across disciplines.

We offer

salary level 48 - 52 (NOK 391 300 - 418 300, depending on level of expertise)
academically stimulating working environment
attractive welfare arrangements

Submissions

Applicants must submit the following attachments with the electronic application, preferably in pdf format:

letter of application describing qualifications (maximum 2 pages)
project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (maximum 5 pages, see Guidelines for project descriptions)
Curriculum Vitae including grades
up to three letters of recommendation
list of publications

Educational certificates, master theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.

The short-listed candidates will be called for an interview at the University of Oslo or we will arrange for an interview on Skype.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.