Postdoctoral fellowship
Postdoctoral fellowship 'Sociological analysis of city and nature: ecological attitudes, symbolic meanings and spatial inequalities in the varieties of capitalism'
Postdoctoral fellowship at Vilnius University's Post-Authoritarian Landscape Research Center
Postdoctoral fellowship applications are open 1 September 2025.
About the project:
Vilnius University's Post-Authoritarian Landscape Research Center is inviting applications for a postdoctoral fellowship. In the face of the climate crisis, it is recognised that ecological and social issues can no longer be addressed in isolation, and the interdependence between human beings and the world around them has become the focus of attention. Throughout history, social structures have left a deep imprint on landscapes. Authoritarian regimes of the 20th century were often notable for the radical nature of their ideas, the scale of imposed transformations on landscapes and disregard for the negative impact on the social and natural environment. Meanwhile, the wave of political transformation and radical economic restructuring at the end of the century fundamentally changed the conditions of the relationship between these societies and their cultural and natural environment.
Such radical transformations stimulate a sociological imagination that enables a new way of looking at everyday relations with the environment. The aim of the fellowship is therefore to take advantage of these opportunities to develop a methodology of sociological analysis that enables the study of society's interactions with cultural (urban, agrarian) or natural landscapes. The research to be carried out during the fellowship should be based on case studies of countries that have experienced authoritarian regimes or should consider the particularities of such cases. Suggestions are welcome on how concepts and methodologies proposed by urban-rural (or spatial) sociology, environmental sociology, sociology of culture, or other fields of sociology could expand our understanding of the impact of societies on the environment. Research proposal of postdoctoral fellowship should apply sociological methods, concepts, and approaches to address one or more of these directions and questions:
Ecological attitudes: How does the social context influence people's attitudes towards and relationships with the natural environment? How are environmentally friendly or damaging practices socially shaped? Are forms of political identification and political mobilisation transformed in the Anthropocene?
Symbolic meanings: How are the signs of (urban, rural or natural) landscapes used in the struggles for the definition of local identity? What are the social preconditions for the (re)valuation of architectural, urban and natural heritage? What are the differences and similarities between territorial stigmatisation in post-authoritarian states and other countries.
Spatial inequalities: How do contemporary housing regimes influence the formation of social segregation in urban and rural areas? How do the diversity of housing stock, the distinctiveness of the natural and urban environment and the tastes of people of different social status influence the social valuation of urban landscapes? What are the experiences of spatial inequalities in areas that have experienced authoritarian regimes and economic restructuring?
Transformations of capitalism: How do land tenure regimes and the social structures that support them affect natural and cultural landscapes? How would a varieties of capitalism approach help to reshape the research agenda in environmental sociology? How do the examples of countries that have experienced economic and political transformations after authoritarian regimes stand out in these respects?
During the postdoctoral fellowship, two articles will have to be prepared: one article will have to be published and one accepted for publication in international scientific journals (included in Scopus and/or CA WOS).
Project leader:
During the fellowship, a research fellow will be able to choose the project leader or a supervisor from among the members of the (Post)Authoritarian Landscape Research Centre.
Required qualifications:
1) A doctoral degree in sociology no earlier than five years ago (in 2019).
2) The dissertation must be defended outside Vilnius University;
3) English language skills (C1 and above)
In assessing the applications submitted, the following would be considered an advantage:
1) Experience in conducting research related to sociology of the environment, urban and rural sociology (or sociology of space), sociology of culture or other fields of sociology related to the research directions and questions of this call;
2) If the project being submitted offers an interdisciplinary approaches;
3) If the applicant has publications that demonstrate her/his competence in applying quantitative methods of analysis (for example, working with quantitative georeferenced data or with advanced statistical methods, such as multi-correspondence analysis);
4) If the applicant has publications demonstrating his/her specific competences in relate to at least one of the research directions described above.
The duration of the research fellowship is 24 months: from 1 November 2024 – 30 October 2026.
Workload: 1 full-time post
Salary: up to 2967 EUR/month (before tax)
Documents to be submitted:
1) Project application. The project application form is available here.
2) Curriculum vitae and a list of publications (or a link to the publicly available profile of the researcher with the necessary information).
3) A copy of the PhD degree diploma with its attachments.
Contacts:
Please send the completed research trainee fellowship project application and other documents to the following address:
More information about the application can be obtained by addressing dr. Tadas Šarūnas ()