The Department of Communication (COMM), Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites applications for a postdoctoral position associated with the Carlsberg-funded project “Tell Me the Truth: Fact Checkers in an Age of Epistemic Instability” (The TMT project) to be filled by December 1, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The position is a fixed term for 1 year and 6 months.
The TMT project
The TMT project investigates questions of facts and truths in public debate and focuses on the practice and role of journalistic fact checkers. The project understands the establishment of facts as a fundamentally rhetorical practice where people argue for and try to gain support for their way of understanding and conveying the truth. Moreover, the project highlights that this happens in a challenging time for traditional authorities and institutions while, at the same time, social media, algorithms, and generative AI are fundamentally reshaping media and politics, making it possible for new types of actors to gain power in the hybrid media system. In this, fact checkers unquestionably play a central role, but—as the TMT project argues—not as objective truth-tellers but as an integrated part of the argumentative process over truth.
The TMT project contains four subprojects asking different but related questions about journalistic fact checking as a developing practice. The postdoctoral candidate is expected to suggest an independent subproject that either extends one of the existing subprojects or adds a fifth subproject.
A short version of the project description can be found here: https://www.carlsbergfondet.dk/det-har-vi-stoettet/cf21-0456/). The complete project description, including the four subprojects, can be forwarded upon request (bengtsson@hum.ku.dk).
The ideal postdoc candidate is:
- An excellent scholar of rhetoric, media studies, or journalism studies
- Experienced in theories relevant to the project, e.g., theories of public controversies and mediated political debate, knowledge claims and knowledge production, journalists, scientists or other knowledge workers in the information ecosystem, or the use and consequences of algorithms, AI, and machine learning in journalistic fact checking
- Experienced in methods for collecting and analyzing material relevant to the subproject
- Interested in journalistic fact checking and related communication practices
- Expected to independently develop a subproject within the framework of the overall project, including a timeline illustrating the feasibility of the subproject
The successful candidate will collaborate with the project leader, Associate Professor Mette Bengtsson, and the other members of the TMT project group at the University of Copenhagen. The successful candidate will be employed in The Section of Rhetoric with the opportunity to be part of the rhetoric research group or other relevant research groups in the department.
Duties and Responsibilities
The post is a full-time research position with no teaching obligations. The postdoc is expected to participate in meetings in the Section of Rhetoric and Department of Communication (COMM).
Qualification requirements and assessment criteria
Employment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.
More information on careers at UCPH and the requirements for the different academic positions is available on:
Career at The University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
For more about postdoc positions and qualification requirements, see the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities: Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (ufm.dk).
Applicants will primarily be assessed on their research qualifications, publications, and ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and potential will be assessed on the criteria for the ideal candidate described above.
Application
Applications must be submitted online in PDF or Word format. Click on the “Apply now” button at the bottom of this advertisement to apply.
The application must be written in English and should include the following documents:
- Cover letter (maximum of one page)
- CV (maximum of two pages)
- Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)
- Complete list of publications. The list must be structured systematically and divided into peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications. Attached publications must be marked with an asterisk
- A selection of publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of three publications for assessment. Publication dates must be marked on the publication list. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments and listed from 1 to 3
- Research plan, including a) a brief description of previous research (in relation to) b) a detailed account of the envisioned subproject. The envisioned subproject must be formulated as part of the TMT project—either as an extension of one of the existing subprojects or as an additional fifth subproject. Research question(s) and methodology must be carefully described (maximum of five pages)
- Documentation of research dissemination, if any.