Within the Research Training Group GRK 2833 “East Asian Futures”, one postdoctoral position is provided by the DFG grant for a researcher who will expand the topic of East Asian Futures to include more than one East Asian region and the respective transnational perspective. Associated postdoctoral researchers with positions at RUB and UDE will join the group in the function of affiliated postdoc fellows.
The postdoc and the three affiliated postdoc fellows will conduct peer teaching on Fieldwork and Archival/Library Research in informal settings, taking turns in a total of 4 sessions of 2 hours each during the summer term of the first year of the project.
The postdoc is expected to join doctoral researchers of both cohorts during their fieldwork phase and offer necessary, intermittent guidance and support on site, especially in the initial phase, while pursuing own fieldwork research in the target region. Since the postdoc will have expertise on ideally two, but not all East Asian countries and regions, this task should be shared with the affiliated postdocs with complementary regional expertise. The duration of the postdoc field stays will be shorter than those of the doctoral researchers. We propose complementary field support for each cohort of up to a total of four months, to be divided between the postdoc and three associated postdocs according to the location of their research.
The qualification measures also include project-specific workshops, in each of the research subthemes, which are organized by postdoctoral researchers from both universities. These are self-initiated activities of the postdoctoral and doctoral researchers, where they gain an important venue for presenting their work and networking with scholars in their field.
We also review publications in the case of postdoctoral scholars. The postdoctoral researcher’s project is expected to include ideally at least two East Asian regions and it should ideally have an interdisciplinary profile. Moreover, the postdoctoral researcher is expected to mentor the doctoral researchers through peer teaching, especially concerning fieldwork. He/she will join the doctoral researchers during their fieldwork for a certain period (see above, second year). He/she will offer intermittent advice and guidance, in cooperation with the associated postdocs who may also be in the field at the same time.
Furthermore, the postdoc is expected to participate in the activities of the RTG especially the colloquia, to present own research at the milestone events, to publish, and to make use of the offers of the RUB Research School, UDE Graduate Center Plus, Research Academy Ruhr as appropriate to advance his/her own career in academia. One requirement especially for the postdoc, in cooperation with the associated postdocs, is to organize project-specific workshops on the four subthemes in the third year of the programme.