First Call for positions: three postdoctoral fellowships on migration and home

Applications are invited for scholarships to work at post-doctoral level as part of the HOMInG –The Home-Migration Nexus Project (Dpt. of Sociology and social research, University of Trento).
Application deadline: 30 December 2016. Expected starting date: February 2017. More info on http://www.unitn.it/ateneo/bandi/assegni-ricerca/nuovi

Positions:
– POSTDOC_1: One junior post-doctoral position: full-time, fixed-term (1 year, renewable up to 3 years overall): http://www.unitn.it/ateneo/bando/41906/dipartimento-di-sociologia-e-ricerca-socialebando-di-selezione-per-il-conferimento-di-n-1-assegno-p
– POSTDOC_2 and _3: Two junior post-doctoral positions: full-time, fixed-term (1 year, renewable up to 2 years overall): http://www.unitn.it/ateneo/bando/41914/dipartimento-di-sociologia-e-ricercasociale-bando-di-selezione-per-il-conferimento-di-n-2-assegni-p
About the HOMInG ERC Starting grant Project
HOMInG is a new European Research Council project (ERC-StG no. 678456), led by Paolo
Boccagni and based at the University of Trento (2016-2021). The project aims at a large scale comparative, ethnographically and biographically based study of the home experience, as affected by transnational migration and societal diversity. Home, as a setting or a social relationship with(in) it, lies at the core of everyday life. Only through migration, though, is it revealed as a complex and elusive social construction, whose micro analysis illuminates macro social issues and problems. How home works in the life trajectories of those who left it behind, and what the search for home says of immigrant integration and of the influence of mobility on domesticity, are the central questions of HOMInG. By deconstructing the tension between the static face of home and the dynamic face of migrant lives, this project aims to innovate the study of the social and emotional
appropriation of space, under conditions of extended mobility and diversity. As a part of this research project, six postdoctoral fellows will be recruited, with a strong research
background in social sciences, to do in-depth fieldwork on migration flows from Latin America (Ecuador and Peru), Horn of Africa (Eritrea and Somalia) and Eastern Europe (Romania and Moldova), starting from neighbourhood relations in some metropolitan areas of Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden. Below is the link to the first three research positions that have just been opened (Deadline for application: December 30, 2016). This call is ideally addressed to junior postdoctoral scholars in sociology, anthropology and geography, with a background in migration/home studies and strong
motivations to invest in multi-sited, qualitative research into the migration settings mentioned above. Three more positions for senior postdoctoral fellows – primarily addressed to qualitative researchers in migration and home studies – will be opened in spring, 2017. Relevant documents should be submitted, and applications be made, online:
https://webapps.unitn.it/Apply/en/Web/Home/inc-ric. Please do not wait until December 30! Contacts: homing@unitn.it
About the selection process
All applications will be assessed, based on the candidates’ CVs, on their relevance and consistency with the research aims of the HOMInG project. A limited number of candidates will be shortlisted (by January 10, 2017) and invited to an interview to take place in Trento (or if necessary, via skype), probably in the last week of January. Selected applicants should start their work by the end of February, 2017.
About the junior post-doctoral research positions: mandatory requirements
– PhD in social sciences;
– Fluency in English;
– Letter of self-presentation, regarding one’s motivations and skills with respect to home and migration studies;
– E-mail contact of two reference persons;
– One selected publication (e.g. journal article or book chapter), to display the candidate’s ability in empirical research;
– A research project in line with the aims of HOMInG (1,500 to 2,000 words);
– Ability and interest to work in a team.

About the junior post-doctoral research positions: preferential requirements
– Good mastery of another language of relevance for the project (i.e. Italian, Spanish, Romanian);
– Research background in migration, ethnic and/or home studies;
– Fieldwork experience in urban or domestic ethnography of immigrants and ethnic minorities;
– Expertise in visual social research;
– Fellowship to be based in Trento, particularly in the early months, as compatible with fieldwork tasks.
About the junior post-doctoral research positions: expected activities
All Junior Post-Doc Fellows are expected to be active members of the HOMInG research community, providing inputs, discussing each other’s ideas and sharing the data and insights they collect. HOMInG is a collaborative enterprise, where the participation of all members counts… and all members should be able to feel at home.
Each HOMInG Fellow is expected to contribute to the joint enterprise in the following ways:
– Months 1-3: Empirical field mapping in at least three European countries; Preliminary selection of relevant urban neighbourhoods;
– Months 1-12: Contribute to designing, testing and implementing research techniques and tools;
– Months 1-36 [PD_1] or 1-24 [PD_2, PD_3]: Contribute to the literature review; Contribute to organizational activities (team-building; setting up seminars and conferences; participating in monthly meetings; managing the project website; communication with stakeholders such as academics, practitioners, immigrant and civil society organizations, public authorities).
Each Fellow is expected to contribute to the HOMInG database with at least:
– Months 2-10: 40 face-to-face exploratory interviews on home views/cultures of local leading figures, according to a shared protocol;
– Months 4-36 [PD_1] or 4-24 [PD_2, PD_3]: An extended, at least 60,000 words [PD_1] or 40,000 words long [PD_2, PD3], ethnographic stepwise report, based on a common analytical framework, to be shared with the HOMInG research team;
– Months 3-36 [PD_1] or 3-24 [PD_2, PD_3]: At least 35 life-histories [PD_1] or 25 life histories [PD_2, PD_3] to be collected, transcribed and shared with the HOMInG team.
Each Fellow is expected to contribute to dissemination activities through:
– Year 1: At least one oral presentation, single or co-authored, on project-related topics at one peer-reviewed conference; one working paper for the project website;
– Year 2 and 3 [PD_1], or Year 2 [PD_2 and PD_3]: At least two papers per year, single or co-authored, on project-related topics, to be submitted to relevant journals/edited collections; at least one oral presentation at a peer-reviewed conference per year; at least one working paper for the project website per year.
– Year 1, 2 and 3 [PD_1], or Year 1 and 2 [PD_2, PD_3]: At least 2 “homing interviews” per year, i.e. mail, phone, skype or vis-à-vis interviews to leading experts on migration and home, to be transcribed and published on the project website.
No formal teaching obligations with the host institution; if desired, the Fellow can give lectures or classes on occasional bases (no extra payment).