Position Detail

Qualitative Social Science Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Hampshire College, an independent, innovative liberal arts institution and member of the Five College consortium, along with its Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies (SSiMS), invites applications for a post-doctoral fellowship under the general category of Qualitative Social Science. This is a one-year grant-funded position with possibility of continuation.

The post-doctoral research fellow will work principally on the development of a large-scale project on ‘Establishing a framework for a multidisciplinary study of science in Muslim societies’. Phase 1 project overview: There is a significant gap in scholarly understanding of how Muslims living in majority and minority contexts perceive science and the role it plays in the construction of both their religious and secular worldviews. The primary aim of this planning project is to begin to build the capacity and networks necessary to conduct a larger scale research study to address this gap. This longer term research will seek to develop a more comprehensive picture of how differing groups along a spectrum of worldviews, within Muslim majority and minority contexts, relate to and from public domain narratives surrounding ‘science’ and ‘religion’. Continued research on subsequent phase 2 will be dependent on future funding.

The Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies (SSiMS) is a multidisciplinary research center that uses perspectives from sociology, anthropology, media studies, science education, and cognitive science, to understand perception of science in diverse Muslim societies. For further details, please visit https://www.hampshire.edu/ssims/center-for-the-study-of-science-in-muslim-societies

This project will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Science, Knowledge and Belief in Society (CSKBS) at Newman University, Birmingham, UK. For further details, please visit:  http://www.newman.ac.uk/research-centres/4322/centre-for-science-knowledge-and-belief-in-society

This fellowship award provides an annual salary of $57,000, plus benefits. A PhD with an emphasis on Islam and/or Muslim societies in a relevant social science field such as science and technology studies, Middle Eastern studies, religious studies, or sociology of religion/sociology of Islam, is desirable.  It is essential that the research fellow have some experience working on postdoctoral qualitative social science research projects. A proficiency in Turkish, Bahasa, or Persian is desirable but not necessary. The anticipated start date of this position is September 2016.

Hampshire is committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community and strongly encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

Review of applications will begin August 8, 2016. Please submit a letter of interest that describes your qualifications and interest in the project, a CV, and two letters of recommendation at https://jobs.hampshire.edu/   No hard copies will be accepted.

Informal Inquiries may be addressed to Dr. Salman Hameed (Director of the Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies) at shameed@hampshire.edu.

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment.