Post-doc M/F 18 months – Anthropology – Microbial diversity, dairy technology & lactic ferments in Mongolia

Job Description

Missions

The postdoctoral position is offered within the framework of the interdisciplinary ANR project “Maintaining dairy microbial diversity in a globalized market (FERMENTS)”, which brings together researchers in SSH and LS (microbiology) to investigate how microbial diversity is preserved within dairy socio-ecosystems (SES) in the context of the globalization of the lactic ferments used in dairy production. The project aims to study, in France, Jordan, and Mongolia, the biological ecological, social, economic, and political factors that shape three types of dairy microbial SES: the industrial SES (pasteurized milk, industrial ferments), the artisanal SES (raw milk, lactic ferments derived from a previous production run), and the mixed SES (raw milk, industrial ferments).
The successful candidate will conduct ethnographic fieldwork and archival research for the Mongolian component of the project. This research will provide an anthropological analysis of the Mongolian dairy technologies and lactic ferments, the functioning of the different SES, and the communities that inhabits and shape them.
The successful candidate will work closely with Sandrine Ruhlmann (Mongolian component's scientific leader) and will also contribute to the broader activities of the FERMENTS project as a whole.

Activity

Research. The ethnographic survey in Mongolia, conducted in Ulaanbaatar, in one or two provincial capitals, and in the steppe, will aim in particular to assess the impact of these inoculation practices on the native milk microbiota, as the Mongolian dairy industry relies on imported industrial lactic ferments.
Mongolia provides an especially valuable setting for studying the microbial industrialization of dairy production. The project will focus on products with strong territorial anchoring that are found across these three SES and that are produced through industrial, artisanal, and/or mixed processes. Tarag (“yogurt, fermented milk”) is one such example. Nomadic herders make it from raw milk inoculated with a small quantity of “yogurt ferment” (targijn höröngö), or “old yogurt” (huučin tarag), originating from a previous batch. In Ulaanbaatar, the dairy company Cүү, founded in 1958 and privatized in 1992, produces tarag, as has the Milkman cooperative since 2020. Given the volumes produced, these companies presumably rely on imported, ready-to-use industrial lactic ferments (starter cultures), as Mongolia does not yet produce its own industrial ferments (Tsend-Ayuush C., Mashentseva NG. et al. 2016). However, inoculation practices in the Mongolian dairy industry remain very poorly documented. The recruited researcher will therefore be expected to prioritize fieldwork in the industrial and mixed SES.
The postdoctoral researcher will participate in the FERMENTS project and contribute to its final interdisciplinary synthesis. The priority research areas will be defined with the project leader, Sandrine Ruhlmann, for the Mongolian component, and will address the following questions:
1) What dairy-processing techniques are implemented across the three SES? The aim will be to analyze their political, economic, ecological, social, and cultural determinants, as well as the recent transformations of an industry that emerged in the 1960s under the communist regime. Particular attention will be paid to technology transfers between artisanal, mixed, and industrial SES: who initiated them, how and where were they carried out, and for what purposes?
2) What dairy-related knowledge, techniques, and practices are mobilized in companies in Ulaanbaatar, provincial cooperatives, and the yurts of nomadic herders? The research will document local knowledge and know-how, their transmission and administration, while taking into account the enduring links between settled populations and nomadic pastoralism. In particular, the study will examine technology transfers within their political, economic, and ecological contexts and assess their outcomes. As early as the 1960s–1980s, French anthropologist Françoise Aubin was already investigating the “coagulants” used in the emerging dairy industry: animal rennet or lactic ferments, whether artisanal or industrial (Hille & Ruhlmann 2022). This question relates to the preservation and transmission of knowledge associated with pastoralism and dairy-processing techniques. The hypothesis of a loss of microbial diversity must therefore be documented through the study of vertical transmission (between generations) and horizontal transmission (among herders, employees, and technicians), both of which are essential to maintaining dairy microbial SES.
SSH and LS will employ their respective methods to generate data that will be integrated into an open interdisciplinary database. The SSH researchers will conduct research among the various actors involved in dairy SES (processors, technicians, scientists, etc.) through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentary research (archives, health and commercial regulations, and scientific publications dating back to the 1920s). Thematic coding will be used to identify the sociocultural, economic, and political determinants of microbial biodiversity. Combined with biological data on the diversity of products, starter cultures/lactic ferments, and milks, these data will feed into the database, one of the major outputs of the FERMENTS project. Statistical analysis will then be used to investigate the relationships between these determinants and microbial biodiversity.

Your Profil

Skills

The candidate must hold a Ph.D. in anthropology, have a good command of the Mongolian (fieldwork, archival researches) and English (reports) languages, substantial ethnographic experience, and a strong scholarly interest in issues related to the relationship between societies and their environment (anthropology of nature, environmental anthropology, ethnoecology). Skills and/or knowledge in pastoral systems or ecology are desirable. The candidate must also have an aptitude for interdisciplinary work, particularly in the fields of STS, biology, and sustainability studies. The candidate must demonstrate independence and autonomy, particularly in the field. The candidate must be willing to move around, as he or she will primarily be responsible for conducting extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Mongolia —in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and on the steppe among nomadic herders (a total of 6 months). The successful candidate will not necessarily be based in Paris (National Museum of Natural History, Musée de l'Homme site). Several trips for meetings in Paris are also planned.

Your Work Environment

The postdoctoral researcher will be supervised by the project leader in Mongolia, Sandrine Ruhlmann (a CNRS researcher based at the MNHN, Musée de l'Homme, Paris: an anthropologist specializing in Mongolian culture, with expertise in technology, food, and pastoralism). He or she will benefit from the interdisciplinary environment of the Eco-Anthropology laboratory —particularly within the Ethnoecology research team, of which he or she will be a member —and from the rich multidisciplinary environment of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

- elements : short CV and Letter of motivation
- interview : video only
- the name of the post-doc will be mentioned during the term of the contract and after in every publications/ communications

Constraints and risks

The human and technical resources required to carry out the postdoctoral fellowship have been planned and budgeted, particularly the resources for field research (plane tickets, per diem, etc.). Mongolia is not considered a high-risk destination; however, experience in remote environment would be an asset.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Salary in accordance with CNRS pay scales, ranging from €2,991 to €4,756 gross per month, depending on experience.

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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