Application deadline: May 15, 2015
Full time, fixed term for 36 months, October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2018
Host supervisors: Dr. Robert Emmett (LMU), Prof. Dr. Christof Mauch (LMU), Prof. Dr. Helmuth Trischler (DM)
Note: Applicants who have lived or worked for more than 12 months in the last three years in Germany are not eligible to apply for the positions based in Germany according to the Marie Curie ITN regulations. They are encouraged to apply for positions hosted at the other main beneficiaries: University of Leeds (Leeds, United Kingdom) and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm).
The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, a joint initiative of the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich and the Deutsches Museum, is inviting applications for four fixed-term (36-month) doctoral students (Early-Stage Researchers or ESRs) to work within a Marie Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) in Environmental Humanities. Three ESRs will be affiliated with the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, one of them will be at the Deutsches Museum. ESRs located in Munich will have opportunities for secondments coordinated with the German non-profit foundation Bündnis Mensch und Tier, dedicated to the sustainable improvement of the human-animal relationship.
The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, LMU Munich and the Deutsches Museum invite applications for four funded doctoral student positions (ESRs) in the environmental humanities, two positions each under the themes of “Climates of Risk” and “Climates of Memory.” A wide-ranging curiosity in the other projects of this ENHANCE group is important, as the four “climates” ESRs will work with colleagues based at the Leeds’ School of English and School of Earth and Environment and the Environmental Humanities Lab at KTH Stockholm.
Successful candidates will propose research projects that analyze cultures and perceptions of climate risk and cultural memories of climate through historical and cross-cultural comparison. One of the primary research aims of the “climates” working group will be to provide deeper historical perspectives on the culture, science, aesthetics and politics of climate. We invite projects in particular that combine approaches in environmental history, history of science and technology, cultural memory studies, geography, ecocriticism as well as related disciplines to explore how cultures have registered and responded to past climate.
Candidates should indicate their preferred research area in their proposal for research. Proposals should draw on relevant cultural archives to address questions such as but not limited to:
Climates of Risk
How are today’s risk societies linked to changing social and cultural habits as well as technological developments? Which cultural, historical, and ethical approaches to risk can contribute to contemporary European approaches to climate change? What ethical and normative framings emerged to give seemingly “neutral” technocratic approaches meaning and force, particularly in light of the ongoing debate about the Anthropocene as a new framework to rethink the nature-culture relation?
Climates of Memory
How do environmental memories shape cultural responses to global climate change and “natural” disasters? What are the most powerful and appropriate ways to evaluate—to measure as well as insure—natural and cultural heritage in an era of global climate uncertainty? Which interpretive strategies yield the best grasp of uneven cultural memories of intergenerational climate change?
To apply, follow the link here: http://portal.graduatecenter-lmu.de/EnhanceITN/
When completing the online application, you will be asked to include the following:
- A Curriculum Vitae
- A statement of motivation and a plan for your doctoral research project, max. 5000 characters
- An explanation of your qualifications for joining your preferred project, max. 5000 characters
- Transcripts of university degrees–if these are in a language other than German or English, then a translation into English is required by the LMU Munich international office
- A copy of your Masters thesis and (if applicable) relevant publications (PDF-files, max. 5MB)
- The names and contact information for two references
For further details, please contact Robert Emmett: robert.emmett@rcc.lmu.de
ENHANCE doctoral program 
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