Postdoctoral Position: Challenge-based Research in the Humanities

The Nordic Humanities Center for Challenge-Based Inquiry invites applications for a 2-year postdoc to be filled by February 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Affiliation
The Nordic Humanities Center for Challenge-Based Inquiry is an innovative and ambitious center of advanced study that fosters new ways of doing humanities research. The center has been established in a collaboration between the faculties of the Humanities at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark with the generous support of the A.P. Møller Foundation. Over the course of the next six years, the center will each year gather a group of scholars at the two universities to marshal insights from the humanities and develop new perspectives, nuances, frames, and narratives for one of the many local and global societal challenges such as, for example, inequality, war, health, artificial intelligence, or the climate crisis. The postdoc will be affiliated with the first research group, which will work on a Nordic theme.

A more detailed description of the center and its mission can be found here

Job Content
In recent years, a set of overlapping but different concepts have been used to describe a more world-oriented direction of the research conducted at universities: applied science, mission-driven research, challenge-based inquiry etc. These concepts and methods take on specific forms when they are adopted in the humanities. From a sociology of science or history of science perspective, the postdoc is expected 1) to map recent years' transformation within the academy towards challenge-based approaches and specific initiatives in Denmark and the Nordic countries – with a focus on the humanities, 2) to map how Danish and Nordic scholars in the humanities themselves engage in and conceptualize research on societal challenges, how they cooperate with external partners, and what humanists themselves consider to be the possibilities and challenges of this type of research, 3) to conduct an individual research project within this area, and 4) to contribute to the activities and events in the center.

Working at University of Southern Denmark
The International Staff Office (ISO) at SDU provides a variety of services for new employees, guests and people who consider applying for a job at the University of Southern Denmark. International staff in tenured positions will be offered Danish language training in connection with the employment and are expected to achieve Danish language competences at CEFR B2-level within 5 years from being appointed.

The Department of Culture and Language is located on the island of Funen at the university's campus in Odense – the third-largest city in Denmark with 185.000 inhabitants. Odense provides family-friendly living conditions in a historic city with an urban feel where nature and other recreational areas are never far away. The city has excellent connections with public transportation to Aarhus and Copenhagen.

We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU .

Qualifications
Candidates must be fluent in a Scandinavian language. Preferred qualifications include a strong publication record and a background in the sociology of science, the history of science and/or higher education, the philosophy or history of the humanities or related fields, as well as experience with quantitative methods, questionnaires, and interviews.

If you have any questions concerning your qualifications or research proposal please contact Professor Anders Engberg-Pedersen, [email protected]

For questions related to CV, diplomas etc., please contact humfak-hr

Conditions of employment and Salary
The employment as postdoc is temporary. Employment stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus, employment as postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher.

The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations), Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere i staten 2025 (the document only exists in Danish).

Persons employed in the position may, based on a specific individual managerial assessment, be exempted from time registration, also known as a “self-organizer”.

Salary is determined in accordance with the applicable collective agreement and based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, including the content of the position, responsibilities, and qualification requirements.

As an applicant, you are entitled to information about the starting salary and salary range for the position. This information will be provided during the recruitment process.

SDU does not collect information on applicants’ previous salary .

Application
Applications should be sent electronically via the link "apply online" and the Faculty expects applicants to read the information " How to apply " before applying.

The application must include

- Detailed CV including personal contact information

- Certificates/Diplomas (Master and PhD degree).

- Complete list of publications, indicating which publications are most relevant for the position.

- Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a PDF for each publication. If your publications have been co-authored, please briefly describe the extent of the co-authorship or your contribution to the individual joint publication. You can do so by using this form (http://misc.sam.sdu.dk/fak/co-author-statement-EN.docx), or you can describe the co-authorship in such a way that the committee can assess the extent of your contribution.

- A cover letter (max. 1-1,5 pages) outlining your fit for the project, motivation, and relevant experience and qualifications.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Application and all appendices must be in Danish, English or one of the Scandinavian languages. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates. We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

The assessment process
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee, and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants' qualifications.

The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests will be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment. Here you can read more about shortlisting at SDU.

Application deadline
Application deadline is 25 November 2026 at 11.59 PM / 23.59 (CEST).

The University of Southern Denmark is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of personal background, and strive to reflect the diversity of society in our staff

If you are not a Danish-speaking applicant, please ensure that you use the English website to access the electronic application form to receive further information in English.

About SDU
SDU was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has more than 3,800 employees, and 115 different study programmes in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Its main campus is in Odense, but SDU is present also in Kolding, Sønderborg, Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

The University is signatory of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). We wish our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.