Missions

The researcher will be part of the ANR EVIMOB project team (CASE/UMR 8170) and will work in close collaboration with it and with the Burmese partners in Myanmar. He/she will be responsible for conducting researches on rituals as repertoires of mobilization, therefore contributing to the Work Package 1 on repertoires of mobilization. He/she will also be responsible for coordinating a 'research through art' artistic residency with exiled Burmese artists. This work should lead to an open-access exhibition dealing with artistic and ritual representations of violence and mobilisations, organised in collaboration with academic actors. In general, he/she will also be involved in the project's reflections and programming.
He/she will be involved in analysing the data collected and publishing the results in the form of scientific articles and presenting them at international conferences and on the project's Carnet Hypothèses website. Finally, the researcher will be involved in the preparatory activities for the programme's final workshop. He/she will attend the meetings planned for this purpose and will contribute to the various collective productions that will result from it.

Activities

o Data collection activities:
- Preparing and coordinating the fieldwork with the other team members: planning and organising meetings with respondents, both for appointments and for travel (transport, accommodation, etc.). ;
- Ethnographic interviews in Burmese and English.
- Working with Myanmar artists in exile.
- Organizing research/art residencies with Burmese artists and researchers from the project.

o Analysis and valorisation activities:
- Drafting a summary report based on the interviews, presenting the data and systems and highlighting the specific features of each field;
- Co-organising internal project workshops;
- Preparation of a “research through art” exhibition dealing with artistic and ritual representations of violence and mobilisations.
- Fueling the Carnet Hypothèses website in collaboration with the project researchers;
- Participating in the management of the data collected (storage and organisation on dedicated platforms).
- Participating in the reflection on the use of the interviews collected;
- Writing articles and chapters in the final collective work;
- Presenting scientific papers at conferences and congresses.

Skills

This post is aimed at a person with a Ph.D. degree in anthropology. The researcher must have a very good knowledge of Myanmar. Previous experience of research in the field of ritual actions would be appreciated.
The researcher must be able to conduct interviews and fieldwork in English and Burmese. Fluency (or at least a good knowledge) in Burmese and fluency in English (reading, writing and speaking) is essential. Knowledge of French is appreciated but not essential.
The researcher must have a good command of ethnographic interviewing methods. The post requires an aptitude for teamwork. He/she should have experience of collective research and of working in international teams.

Work Context

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CASE) is a joint research unit (8170) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), located on the Condorcet Campus (Aubervilliers).
The postdoctoral researcher will initially be required to liaise with members of the ANR EVIMOB project, who have been working together for over two years. As coordinators, we are committed to facilitating their work so that they can become operational as quickly as possible, which is why proficiency in English and Burmese is essential.
The EVIMOB project leverages a case study on an understudied Southeast Asian country, Burma/Myanmar, and investigates how memories, experiences and a history of violence can inform and generate new types of contentious action. The coup d'état of February 1, 2021, abruptly put an end to Myanmar's democratic experiment and was followed by a massive rejection of military rule -– known as the Spring Revolution –- that took many forms: mass protests, barricades, non-violent civil disobedience, alternative political institutions, monkhood-led movements, ritual actions, online and diasporic activism, and urban and rural guerrilla warfare. This project analyses how the swift return to autocratic rule reveals a continuum of violence that (re)creates forms of collective action and uncovers multifaceted processes of social and political change. We propose an interdisciplinary approach to mobilisation by analysing the continuities and innovations in repertoires and the memories and forms of transmission, while questioning how mobilisation can inform legacies of violence. Our guiding hypothesis is that, in a society where the public mediation of the past is contested, mobilisations reveal alternative ways of mediating shared memories grounded in experiences of violence that serve as a basis for social and political change(s).
EVIMOB promotes a reflexive approach to research ethics during crisis, collaborative methods, and is based on two fundamental research questions, each of them forming a Work Package (WP): WP1. How do past mobilisations inform contemporary collective action? WP2. How does mobilisation inform experiences of violence?

The person recruited will be employed by CASE (CNRS) on a full-time fixed-term contract for a period of 18 months. Remuneration will be based on the salary scale for contract staff at the CNRS and on professional experience acquired in connection with the duties of the post. The position is located at CASE, on the EHESS premises at the Campus Condorcet (Aubervilliers).
How to apply:
Applications will be examined by members of the EVIMOB project coordination team.
Applications must include :
- a curriculum vitae including a list of publications
- a letter of motivation (2 pages maximum) outlining the applicant's skills in relation to the subject of the research project.

Constraints and risks

Risks related to fieldwork and conflict-affected political contexts (Myanmar).