[rohrpost] (fwd) JOB: PhD position at Leuphana/Lüneburg: Ethnography of Anonymity

[Andreas Broeckmann]

The sub-project “Configuring Sociality. The Production of Online 
Anonymity Regimes” at Leuphana University Lüneburg (foundation under 
public law), is seeking to appoint a 65% position as

Research Associate (EG 13 TV-L)

at a doctoral level for a duration up to three years, starting from 1. 
October 2015.

The sub-project “Configuring Sociality” is part of a larger project on 
“Reconfiguring Anonymity – Contemporary Forms of Reciprocity, 
Identifiability and Accountability in Transformation”, with Hamburg and 
Bremen University as further partners. The overall project is funded by 
the program “Key Issues in Academia and Society” of the 
Volkswagen-Foundation, and coordinated by Bremen University (Prof. Michi 
Knecht). The sub-project “Configuring Sociality” is led by Prof. Götz 
Bachmann, Institute for Culture and Aesthetics of Digital Media (ICAM), 
Leuphana.

“Reconfiguring Anonymity” starts with the assumption that the way we 
practice and imagine anonymity is one of modernity’s most fundamental 
cultural formations. However, current and future media, information, 
identification and surveillance technologies transform established 
concepts and practices of doing and undoing anonymity. While the 
questions raised by these profound changes are widely debated in public 
discourse, empirically grounded and theoretically complex understandings 
of the social dynamics, productivity and dangers of anonymity are 
surprisingly scarce. Therefore, “Reconfiguring Anonymity” brings 
together social anthropologists, sociologists, media scientists and art 
historians to generate a series of extended ethnographic case studies, 
with the aim to produce new insights into regimes of maintaining, 
modifying or abandoning anonymity in contemporary, hybrid online-offline 
worlds.

The sub-project “Configuring Sociality” addresses the negotiation of 
anonymity in the process of designing, producing, coding and launching 
social media platforms and applications. Research will be conducted in 
Germany, the UK and the US. The doctoral project will be located in this 
topical area, and will involve extensive ethnographic research in the UK 
and in the Berlin/Hamburg region. The post is situated at the “Institute 
for the Culture and Aesthetics of Digital Media” (ICAM), and associated 
to the “Centre for Digital Cultures” (CDC) at Leuphana.

Your tasks:

- Independent work on a PhD project, including the design and conduct of 
extensive ethnographic case studies in digital media companies and 
networks in the UK and Germany
- Participation in the activities of the sub-project on “Configuring 
Sociality” and the overall project “Reconfiguring Anonymity”
- Preparation and discussion of research literature, especially in the 
area of media theory, media history, social and cultural anthropology 
and STS, where relevant for the topic
- There is no requirement to teach, but own teaching activities are possible
- Preparing and writing up results for peer reviewed publications

Requirements:

- Completed masters degree or equivalent in the area of Cultural or 
Social anthropology, European Ethnology, Media Studies, Social studies 
of Science and Technology (STS), Cultural Studies, Sociology or related 
fields.
- Familiarity with ethnography, ideally within the area of media 
ethnography and/or the ethnography of work
- Excellent letter of intention, which includes not only past 
experiences, but also an outline of first ideas for a doctoral project 
in the thematic and methodological field (no more than 3 pages at 1.5 
line spacing and font size 12)
- Very good communicative and team skills, willingness to closely work 
together with PhD students and researchers of the reaearch group
- Interest in interdisciplinary exchange within a research intensive 
environment
- Preparedness to enrol for the doctoral programme at Leuphana 
University Lüneburg, including participation in its seminars and colloquia.
- Very good English language skills, good German skills.
- Place of work is Lüneburg.

For further substantial enquiries regarding the posts please contact 
goetz.bachmann at leuphana.de

Leuphana University Lueneburg is an equal opportunity employer committed 
to fostering heterogeneity among its staff. Disabled applicants with 
equal qualifications will be given priority consideration. We are 
looking forward to your application.

You may submit hard copy applications (not preferred!)

Applications with supporting documentation (including research proposal 
of no more than 3 pages) should be sent by 20th of July 2015 to:

Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Personalservice; Frau Mühl-Beulke
Kennwort: „Configuring Sociality“
Scharnhorststraße 1
D – 21335 Lüneburg
bewerbung at leuphana.de