Research Fellow in History

About the role

This two-year post will support the international project ‘Global Governance, Trust and Democratic Engagement in Past and Present’ (GLO), which is run within the framework of the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Drawing on insights from History, IR, Political Science and Sociology, GLO pursues two major lines of enquiry. First, it examines campaigns that sought to create, reform, transform or abolish international organisations. In doing so, it highlights the democratic potentials and lacunae of international organisations while tracing broader efforts to democratise international relations. Second, the project investigates attempts by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social movements to enlist the support of international bodies, partly in response to the obstacles they encountered domestically.

As a Research Fellow, you will focus on the ‘Targeting’ work package of this project, undertaking research on instances in which activists addressed international organisations and deployed arguments about ‘democracy’. You will identify and develop case studies that align with your research interests and expertise. In doing so, you will contribute to a co-authored monograph and produce at least one separate journal article. You will participate in academic conferences held in Canada, Switzerland and the United States and support the preparation and running of a knowledge-exchange workshop in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The role is fixed term for 24 months.

Further information is available in the job description.

About the team

You will join the UK part of the wider, international GLO team, which is based at Northumbria University’s Department of Humanities, an 80-person-strong community of scholars. The department’s ‘Histories of Activism’ and ‘Global and Transnational History' research groups will provide a supportive environment for your research.

GLO has multiple components. Apart from a UK-based team that is being coordinated by Laqua (who is also Principal Investigator for the overall project), it includes teams that are based in Switzerland, Canada and the United States and that, respectively, are led by Carolyn Biltoft (Geneva), Daniel Gorman (Waterloo) and Susan Stokes (Chicago). Further team members include Richard Huzzey (Durham), Henry Miller (Northumbria), Amalia Ribi Forclaz (Geneva), Anne-Isabelle Richard (Leiden) and three Research Fellows associated with the project.

About you

You should hold a PhD in History or another relevant discipline. Your research background should equip you to handle the transnational and historical dimensions of this project. You should demonstrate the capacity to address questions of global inequality and marginalisation within the project context. The ability to incorporate perspectives from beyond the West and/or Global North will be an asset, as will be experience in handling sources in different languages.

Further information about the requirements of the role is available in the person specification.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Daniel Laqua (daniel.laqua@northumbria.ac.uk).

To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now'.  Your application should include a covering letter and a CV.

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