Post-doc (M/F)

Job Description

Missions

The PEPR TRANSFORM programme (CNRS, IRD), funded by France 2030, aims to contribute, through transformational research, to reversing current trends that are undermining human well-being and the living conditions of all living beings on Earth. To this end, the programme aims (i) to advance our understanding of the biophysical and social conditions of habitability, (ii) to strengthen the co-construction of knowledge between researchers and local stakeholders, with a view to transforming towards greater sustainability and habitability; and (iii) to explore the issue of interactions across scales – from the micro to the macro – in order to create the conditions for conducting socio-ecological experiments and to draw lessons based on their diversity, thereby giving the transformation a systemic character.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of the Institut Transform as part of Targeted Project 1. They will undertake theoretical research aimed at studying the role of changing perceptions and emotions in environmental history, with a particular focus on the socio-technical mechanisms that mediate them. The aim will be to develop, in close conjunction with interdisciplinary literature and empirical case studies, a theoretical and conceptual framework for describing and analysing how 'sensibilities' towards the environment evolve. Particular attention will be paid to the various subjective dimensions involved (epistemic, sensory, conative), as well as to their specific socio-political impact.
It will also run a teaching and training programme within the Institut Transform. This collaborative platform will aim to organise spaces for dialogue between the various theoretical frameworks and scientific communities within the transformative sciences, to foster links with non-academic stakeholders (artists, managers, elected representatives, associations, local communities), and to explore and experiment with different forms of action research.

Activity

• contribute to the scientific debate by developing an approach based on the social epistemology and/or political ecology of knowledge concerning habitability, with a particular focus on the interplay between social history, environmental history and the history of mentalities.
• Contribute to the scientific debate by analysing the specific nature of the sensory dimensions relating to environmental knowledge and their links with other dimensions of experience (division of labour, technical lineage).
• contribute to the objectives of the PEPR by exploring the contributions of the epistemology of the humanities and social sciences to the sciences of transformation.
• contribute to the dissemination, within the PEPR, of a common vocabulary for analysing the social structuring of experience and the main levers for action proposed by such a theory.

Your Profil

Skills

PhD in Philosophy (epistemology of the humanities and social sciences, social philosophy, the intersection of art history and environmental history, epistemology of ecology)

Required skills:

• Research experience in the theoretical debates surrounding the status of the concept of 'sensibilities' in social history in general, and in environmental history in particular – socio-cultural constructivism (including its ethnological and geographical variants), the various strands of eco-Marxism, etc.
• A good knowledge of the main theoretical models developed in this context – the anthropology of nature (in conjunction with imperial and postcolonial geographies), ecopsychology (and the psychoanalysis of the non-human environment), critical environmental sociology and the history of technology (particularly in the field of interspecies relations).
• A good general understanding of the role of technical and artistic devices in the evolution of sensibilities towards nature (observation tools, systems of representation, staging devices).
• Knowledge of issues relating to the social, natural and cognitive sciences that can shed light on the various aspects of the research.
• Proven experience of working in inter- and transdisciplinary contexts. Ability to contribute to the scientific coordination of an interdisciplinary research group bringing together researchers from the humanities and social sciences and the life and earth sciences.
Experience of interdisciplinary research including an empirical component (fieldwork, case studies, interviews) would be an advantage.

Your Work Environment

The researcher will be based at the Centre for Research on the Arts and Language (CRAL – UMR 8566 CNRS / EHESS), a joint research unit dedicated to the arts, creative processes and forms, as well as the languages used to describe them, with a view to reflecting on the role of the sensory in society. Bringing together literary scholars, art historians, philosophers, musicologists, anthropologists and sociologists, the CRAL adopts an interdisciplinary and cross-artistic approach to creation and perception. In particular, the successful candidate will contribute to the research themes 'Environmental Humanities, Maps of Life, Planetary Art' and 'Knowledge through the Sensory', at the intersection of which lies this work on the evolution of environmental sensibilities and the mechanisms that mediate them.
The post will form part of Targeted Project 1 of the PEPR TRANSFORM programme, dedicated to the creation of the Institut Transform, an organisation focused on research, training and experimentation concerning socio-ecological transformations and conditions of habitability. The successful candidate will contribute to the scientific discussions accompanying the establishment of this institute, within an interdisciplinary framework combining science, the arts and society, as well as to its operational and scientific set-up, by drawing on the expertise and networks of the CRAL.
The successful candidate will report to Frédérique Aït-Touati (Director of research, CNRS – CRAL, UMR 8566).
This position is in a sector subject to the Protection of Scientific and Technical Potential (PPST) regulations and therefore, in accordance with these regulations, requires that your appointment be authorized by the competent authority at the MESR.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Between €3,131 and €4,806 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