[Air-L] 3 PhDs, a postdoc and an ass.prof. at the Center for Digital Narrative

[Jill Walker Rettberg]

Hi everyone,

We are launching the Center for Digital Narrative (CDN)<https://www.uib.no/en/cdn> (https://www.uib.no/en/cdn) at the University of Bergen in August, and have just started advertising positions. Right now we have an opening for an associate professor in game studies, three PhDs (one in electronic literature, one in social media narrative and one in AI/XR/conversational narratives) and a postdoc in electronic literature. There’ll be another open PhD in Digital Culture advertised soon. PhD positions (and postdocs and of course the ass.prof) in Norway all pay normal salaries (not student stipends) and carry with them employee rights like parental leave and all the standard Norwegian welfare benefits (healthcare, subsidized universal childcare etc). Salary ranges are stated on the job ads. You would need to live in or be willing to relocate to Bergen.

CDN is a new Center for Research Excellence funded for ten years through the Norwegian Research Council. Our premise is that narratives are fundamental to humans’ understanding of ourselves and our world, and there is an urgent need to understand how narratives change with digital media. How do recommendation algorithms in social media shape the stories we can tell and how stories spread? How will AI or VR and AR impact storytelling? What characterizes narratives in digital games, or in electronic literature? In addition to developing new research, CDN aims to train new humanities researchers for the societal challenges ahead: researchers who know how to collaborate, to use digital methods and to work together to develop new knowledge. CDN will have its own building in the middle of our Bergen campus, with frequent social and research-based events. It’s going to be amazing – we are all so excited!

Please apply if this looks right for you, or pass the ads on to others who may be interested!

1) Associate Professor in Digital Culture (Game Studies): (tenured position) https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/240043/associate-professor-in-digital-culture
We are seeking an Associate Professor with research expertise within game studies, and with research interests that can complement the existing scholarly competency of the department and the CDN. We are seeking an ambitious candidate with an increasing research portfolio and who is eager to develop and refine their own research agenda within digital narratives. This is an entry-level position – in the Norwegian system we don’t distinguish between assistant and associate professors, and so anyone with a relevant PhD is encouraged to apply. The position is equally weighted between teaching and research. Application deadline: 24th March 2023

2) PhD in Electronic Literature: (4 year position) https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/240672/phd-research-fellowship-in-electronic-literature-at-the-center-for-digital-narrative-cdn
The successful candidate’s PhD project will address electronic literature from the standpoint of literary genres across historical periods, considering how forms of electronic literature are in conversation, agreement, and conflict with genres which might range, for example, from the epic to lyric poetry, to the novel. There is some flexibility in the topic of the dissertation, which will be developed in collaboration with the CDN electronic literature node leader during the candidate’s first semester. Application deadline: 19th March 2023

3) PhD in Extending Digital Narrative (XDN): (3 year position)
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/240664/phd-research-fellowship-in-connection-with-the-project-extending-digital-narrative-xdn
Applicants must propose a PhD project to investigate new forms of digital narratives that use emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality (XR), and/or conversational interfaces from a humanities perspective. Both critical and creative research approaches will be encouraged. There is some flexibility in the topic of the dissertation, which will be developed in collaboration with the XDN project leader during the candidate’s first semester. Application deadline: 1st April 2023

4) PhD in Social Media Media Narratives: (4 year position)
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/240670/phd-research-fellowship-in-social-media-narratives-at-the-center-for-digital-narrative-cdn
The successful candidate’s PhD project will address narratives emerging in social media with an emphasis on marginalized and/or ideology-driven voices and communities. The project should use interpretative, qualitative methodologies, e.g., ethnography, visual or textual analysis etc. We are particularly interested in projects that consider how collective narratives shared across social media connect to a sense of belonging to or being excluded from a group. Relevance to a Norwegian or Nordic context is an advantage. There is some flexibility in the topic of the doctoral thesis, which the candidate will develop further in collaboration with the leaders of CDN's group for social media. Application deadline: 19th March 2023

5) Postdoctoral position in Electronic Literature: (3 year position)
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/240519/postdoctoral-position-in-electronic-literature-at-the-center-for-digital-narrative-cdn
The Center for Digital Narrative is adapting an extensive open-access platform, the ELMCIP Electronic Literature Knowledge Database, to serve as a lasting research environment that will document current research in the broader category of exploratory, digital narrative. The database will also encompass emerging narrative forms that are increasingly found in computer games, social media, computational systems, and extended reality narratives.
- The applicant is expected to develop this database and conduct independent research based on digital humanities analyses of genres, histories, technological and cultural contexts of electronic literature.
- The applicant is also expected to survey international, multilingual databases documenting electronic literature, digital narrative, and related topics.
- The applicant will help develop one or more independent grant proposals for future research with support from CDN.
- The applicant will collaborate with other members at the center and participate in and contribute to its seminars and events.
Application deadline: 1st April 2023

6) PhD in Digital Culture with a focus on Digital Narratives – this position will be advertised very soon! Check the CDN website (http://uib.no/en/cdn) or http://jobbnorge.no for updates.


Jill Walker Rettberg
Professor of Digital Culture and Co-Director of the Center for Digital Narrative
Universitetet i Bergen

https://www.uib.no/en/persons/Jill.Walker.Rettberg