[Air-L] Call for Applications: Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships “Algorithmed Public Spheres” (Hamburg)

[Cornelius Puschmann]

Dear colleagues,

Please allow me to share the call for applications pasted below -- do pass
it on to any postdocs you know who might be interested.

All best (and apologies for cross-posting),

Cornelius


***Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships “Algorithmed Public Spheres”
(Deadline: May 1st)***

SUMMARY:
The Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research  in Hamburg, Germany, invites
applications for international postdoctoral research fellows who will
conduct innovative research on the social and cultural impact of algorithms
during stays of 3-12 months in Hamburg in the academic year 2018/2019.

DESCRIPTION:
The Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research is a publicly funded research
institute that focuses on the study of mediated public communication. Its
research encompasses both broadcast and digital communication from an
interdisciplinary and comparative perspective.

The postdoctoral research network Algorithmed Public Spheres (
https://aps.hans-bredow-institut.de/) has been established to study the
relevance of algorithms for the constitution of the public sphere. We
emphasize in particular the importance of algorithms for filtering, ranking
and selecting media content and for structuring digital communication. In
contrast to the use of data mining in areas such as healthcare, credit
scoring and general business analytics, where such techniques have a long
tradition, the impact of algorithms on the public sphere poses novel
challenges. How are communication, media, and public discourse impacted by
transferring the dominant logics of consumption from other industries to
news, information, and political deliberation, implemented in social media
platforms, search engines, and on news websites? How do we adapt as
individuals as well as as a society to the growing prevalence of
algorithmic systems?

Research in this area could include:
- Governance of and by algorithms
- Algorithm awareness and algorithm literacy
- Measurement of algorithmic bias and discrimination
- Algorithms in news production, distribution and consumption processes
- User interaction with and rationalization of algorithms

We invite applications for international postdoctoral research fellows from
fields including, but not restricted to, computer and information science,
communication and media studies, law, political science, sociology and
philosophy, who will conduct innovative research on the social and cultural
impact of algorithms during stays of 3-12 months in Hamburg in the academic
year 2018/2019. We particularly welcome cross-cutting research proposals
that integrate technical and social perspectives and result in concrete
outcomes, for example in the form of peer-reviewed research articles or
proposals for externally funded projects.

Up to two funded fellowships will be awarded as result of this call. The
fellowships cover airfare and a contribution to the accommodation and
subsistence in Hamburg. In specific cases, we may offer a temporary
employment contract instead of a scholarship.

To apply, please send a cover letter (one page), a project proposal (up to
three pages) and your CV (up to four pages), including a list of your most
relevant publications (maximum of five), to Cornelius Puschmann (
c.puschmann at hans-bredow-institut.de). Please note that applications
submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Application deadline: May 1, 2018
Announcement of 2018/2019 Fellows: May 18, 2018

-- 
Dr. Cornelius Puschmann
Research Associate
Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
Französische Straße 9
10117 Berlin, Germany
www.hiig.de

Senior Researcher
Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research
Rothenbaumchaussee 36
20148 Hamburg, Germany
www.hans-bredow-institut.de

p: +49 40 450 217 55
e: cornelius.puschmann at hiig.de
w: cbpuschmann.net

*Recent paper:*
Puschmann, C., & Scheffler, T. (2016). Topic modeling for media and
communication research: A short primer (*HIIG Discussion Paper Series* No.
2016–5). Berlin. Retrieved from
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2836478