Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Rethinking Environmental Epistemic Injusticess (M/F)

Job Description

Missions

The PEPR TRANSFORM programme (CNRS, IRD), funded under the France 2030 investment plan, aims to advance transformational research capable of reversing current trajectories that undermine human well-being and the living conditions of all life on Earth.
The programme pursues three complementary objectives:
• advancing knowledge of the biophysical and social conditions that sustain habitability;
• strengthening the co-production of knowledge between researchers and territorial stakeholders in support of more sustainable and habitable futures;
• developing a multiscalar understanding of socio-ecological transformations in order to foster experimentation across contexts and generate transferable insights that contribute to systemic transformation.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of the Earthcare Institute for Transformation as part of Targeted Project 1 of the PEPR TRANSFORM programme.
They will undertake theoretical research on epistemic inequalities in environmental knowledge, with particular attention to asymmetries between the Global North and the Global South. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship and informed by empirical case studies, the project will develop a theoretical and conceptual framework for analysing the forms of epistemic injustice and epistemic inequality that shape the Earth and environmental sciences.
Particular attention will be paid to inequalities in the production and circulation of knowledge concerning the environments and climates of the Global South, as well as to the ways these inequalities are intertwined with both epistemic and non-epistemic factors, including historical, political, economic, and social processes.
The successful candidate will also contribute to the educational and training activities of the EarthCare Institute for Transformation. This interdisciplinary platform aims to foster dialogue across the diverse theoretical traditions and research communities engaged in transformation sciences, strengthen collaboration with non-academic partners—including artists, practitioners, policymakers, civil society organisations, and local communities—and explore innovative approaches to participatory and action-oriented research.

Activity

The successful candidate will be expected to:
• Advance scholarly debates by developing an original research programme in social epistemology and/or the political ecology of knowledge on habitability, with particular attention to epistemic inequalities between the Global North and the Global South in environmental and sustainability sciences.
• Contribute to ongoing debates on environmental epistemic injustice by examining its distinctive features and analysing its intersections with broader forms of environmental injustice.
• Contribute to the scientific objectives of the PEPR TRANSFORM programme by exploring how theories of justice can enrich the emerging field of transformation sciences.
• Identify and anticipate the risk of reproducing epistemic inequalities within the PEPR programme itself, particularly in the development of the Living Labs established in the Global South.
• Promote, across the PEPR community, a shared conceptual framework and common vocabulary addressing issues of cognitive justice, epistemic equity, and equitable North–South research collaborations.

Your Profil

Skills

Applicants must hold a PhD in Philosophy, with specialisation in one or more of the following areas:
• Environmental Philosophy
• Philosophy of Ecology
• Social Epistemology
• Philosophy of the Social Sciences
• Philosophy of the Natural Sciences

The successful candidate should demonstrate:
• A strong research record on the production and circulation of environmental knowledge in the Global South, or on scientific collaborations and knowledge relations between the Global North and the Global South.
• A thorough understanding of major theoretical approaches in social epistemology, the sociology of knowledge, contemporary anthropology, and decolonial thought, particularly as they relate to epistemic domination, marginalisation, exclusion, and exploitation, and to their historical entanglement with imperial and postcolonial geographies.
• A solid general understanding of the Earth and environmental sciences, whether through expertise in a specific disciplinary field or through familiarity with key components of contemporary research practice, such as environmental observation systems, data collection and analysis, modelling, and simulation.
• Knowledge of the conceptual and methodological challenges associated with transformation sciences and with engaged, participatory, or action-oriented research.
• Demonstrated experience of working in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research environments, together with the ability to contribute actively to the intellectual life of a collaborative research programme bringing together scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and the Earth and life sciences.

The following qualifications will be considered strong assets:
• Previous postdoctoral research experience, particularly where it demonstrates the capacity to develop an independent research agenda while contributing effectively to interdisciplinary research environments.
• Experience conducting interdisciplinary research involving an empirical component, such as fieldwork, qualitative interviews, case studies, or other qualitative research methods.

Your Work Environment

The successful candidate will be based at the Institut des Sciences Juridique et Philosophique de la Sorbonne (ISJPS) (CNRS UMR 8103 / Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study of contemporary transformations in norms, knowledge, and forms of governance.
The position will contribute to strengthening the Institute's Environment research programme, jointly led by legal scholars and philosophers, which promotes interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary socio-environmental challenges.
The post forms part of Targeted Project 1 of the PEPR TRANSFORM programme, which is dedicated to establishing the EarthCare Institute for Transformation—an interdisciplinary platform for research, education, and experimentation on socio-ecological transformations and the conditions of habitability.
The successful candidate will contribute to the Institute's scientific development by participating in the conceptual and strategic reflections accompanying its establishment. Working at the interface of science, the arts, and society, they will also support the Institute's operational development by mobilising the expertise and research networks of the ISJPS.
The successful candidate will report to Paul Guillibert (CNRS Research Fellow, ISJPS UMR 8103).

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

3 132,83 € - 4 806,76 € 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

The research professions