Postdoctoral position in Archaeological Network Research at the Social Resilience Lab, Department of Culture, Cognition and Computation, Aarhus University

The Social Resilience Lab and the School of Culture and Society invite applications for a 22-month fixed-term postdoctoral position in Archaeological Network Research. The appointment begins on the 1st of November 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Research context

We are looking for an innovative scholar with a background in archaeology, history or digital humanities preferably with a specialisation in network research or the digital analysis of synthesised material culture datasets. 

The position is associated with the Villum Foundation Synergy project ROMNET, which aims to develop methodological tools to support the archaeological practice of creating material culture similarity networks.

This data-driven project establishes interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeologists (AU) and network scientists (Dr Michele Coscia, IT University Copenhagen) to create the first integrated computational workflow for reconstructing past social networks from material culture data. It will enhance archaeological method and theory for network data representation of material culture data and for testing assumptions about how this data reflects past social networks. It will also enrich network science: archaeology provides network data with critical incompleteness issues but that is also rich in metadata. The project will enable studies on the diversity of social networks of our species, and how processes evolve over long time periods beyond the scope of current social network studies.

The successful applicant is expected to participate in project activities related to archaeological theory, data collection and analysis, and will actively collaborate closely with other team members in developing new methods. They will be mainly supported by the AU PI Tom Brughmans, and will work closely with the ITU PI and postdoctoral researcher. They will further be working along other members of the Social Resilience Lab. 

The position

The employment concerns the following main tasks:

• Archaeology literature review of approaches to network representation of material culture networks, with a particular focus on Roman Studies and the PreHispanic US Southwest
• Systematic description of archaeological transformation steps from ceramic data to network data, the network methods typically used, and the uncertainties and errors involved
• Collection of Roman and prehispanic USSW ceramic data from large open databases; collaboration on datasets with project members
• Application of diverse network representation approaches to ceramic data to inform the development of new method workflow
• Literature review and categorization of archaeological assumptions about the way in which material culture similarity reflects past social networks, supplemented by reviewing ethnographic and sociological studies with the same focus on material culture
• Systematic description of the network methods argued to implement these assumptions typically used by archaeologists to analyse ceramic data networks
• Application of these traditional archaeological approaches to inform new method workflow
• Closely collaborate with archaeology project members in AU and computer science project members at ITU
• Attend and actively participate in inperson project meetings, including project travel
• Actively participate in remote project meetings
• Present their research at international meetings
• Publication of project outputs in peerreviewed international journals, and open access code and data
• Contribute to the organisation of research workshops and international conferences

The successful applicant will be expected to actively participate in the life of The Social Resilience Lab, engage with a wider academic community and to continue their development as an internationally competitive researcher, by

• working independently on core research tasks and handling a gradually increasing degree of autonomy
• contributing to other projects and collaborating with other members of The Social Resilience Lab including across disciplines
• participating in continuous professional development opportunities. 

Support, both peer-support and mentoring, in terms of the technical and scholarly tasks as well as personal and professional development will be provided to ensure optimal conditions for a thriving professional period. 

We acknowledge that imposter syndrome is a widespread phenomenon in academia, but it should not deter potential applicants from putting themselves forward for this role. Should you have any doubts or require further information, Dr. T. Brughmans (t.b@cas.au.dk) is available for informal discussions regarding the potential fit for the position.

The university is keen for its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their personal background.

Teaching

The position will involve a limited amount of teaching as agreed upon with the Head of the Department and the project PIs.

Knowledge exchange

The successful applicant will be expected to exchange knowledge with various sectors of society and to contribute actively to public debate in areas related to the position.

Qualifications and the selection process

Applicants for this position must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent level of education) in archaeology, history, classics, digital humanities or a related field. 
Applicants are asked to submit the following documents: 

• a cover letter stating the relevant experience and projects and motivation for applying for the position [maximum two pages], 
• a cv and a list of publications,
• a maximum of two relevant publications.

Applicants must document (essential): 

• doctoral-level experience in handling humanities, archaeological, or historical data to a high scientific standard,
• familiarity with at least one of the Project’s research areas (the Roman Empire, the Prehispanic US Southwest),
• familiarity with or demonstrable interest in network research,
• fluency in written and spoken English,
• evidence of team-playing skills, the ability to constructively collaborate, experience in interdisciplinary work and collegiality 

Applicants should highlight (beneficial): 

• an interest in past social networks and resilience
• knowledge of GIS, Network Science, aoristic methods and general statistics
• activity in an academic network relevant to the project goals
• familiarity with databases and openlicences,

*The research activities will be evaluated in relation to the actual research time. We therefore encourage applicants to specify any periods of leave they may have had without research activities (e.g. maternity/paternity leave), so we can subtract these periods from the span of their academic career when evaluating their productivity.

*Please upload a maximum of two publications alongside your application. 

*Only submitted publications will be assessed; a list of publications is not sufficient. As a result, applications without submitted publications will not be assessed.

*Professional references or recommendations should not be included. Applicants who are selected for an interview may be asked to provide professional references.

*The application must be submitted in English

For further information about the position, please contact project PI Tom Brughmans (t.b@cas.au.dk) 

• For more information about applications, please contact HR supporter Gerd Cecilie Bech Thomsen (gebeth@au.dk).
   

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to check Family and work-life balance and Attractive working conditions for further information about the benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see Taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU.

The work environment

This position will be based in the newly established Social Resilience Lab (Nobelparken, Jens Chr. Skous Vej, 8000 Aarhus C.) - a fresh and dynamic research group whose aim is to leverage historical and archaeological data to explore the sources of resilience across a vast range of past and present societies against stresses (such as climate change) and shocks (e.g. natural catastrophes). The successful applicant is expected to be present at the department on a daily basis
 
The benefits of the position include:

• pursue vision-driven world-class research as a team
• ample professional development opportunities including cutting-edge management paradigms, processes and software
• a working environment that upholds values such as work-life balance, kindness, putting people over product, aiming to create an environment in which all of its members can thrive
• high level of independence and authority over one’s tasks, timelines and processes
• Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

School of Culture and Society

At the School of Culture and Society, the object of research and teaching is the interplay between culture and society in time and space:

- From the traditional disciplines of the humanities and theology to applied social research
- From Antiquity to the issues facing contemporary societies
-  From local questions to global challenges

The school’s ambition is to produce compelling research with an international resonance as well as to offer teaching and talent development of the highest quality. The school has a broad cooperative interface with society as a whole, both in Denmark and abroad, and contributes to social innovation, research communication and further and continuing education.

For further information about the school, please see http://cas.au.dk/en/.

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.