Fellowship positions: Modes of Authority and Aesthetic Conducts from South to Southeast Asia

Two postdoctoral fellowship positions are available as part of the PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres University) research project entitled AutoritAs. They will be administered by the CNRS.

The Autoritas project Modes of Authority and Aesthetic conducts from South to Southeast Asia Art, in its material and immaterial manifestations, often serves the legitimation of authority, whether that authority is political, religious or of some other kind. From South Asia to Insulindia, aesthetic forms of expression, be they graphic, visual, musical, choreographic, theatrical, narrative (or most often combinations of these elements), contribute to the establishment of various types of legitimacy. Over time, they have undergone multiple processes of circulation, valorization, devalorization, prohibition, reinvention, re­‐appropriation, emulation. Sometimes censored, they have also elicited forms of resistance and opposition. The project calls on several different social science fields to think through the link between aesthetic phenomena and authority from South Asia to peninsular and insular Southeast Asia.

Key words: arts, performing arts, aesthetics, politics, authority, power, ritual, orality, techniques, South Asia, Southeast Asia

http://case.ehess.fr/index.php?1167 [Link no longer active]

Conditions
Pay: approx. 2,000 €/month
Length: 10 months (Sept. 2016-­June 2017)
Location: Paris
Application deadline 30th April 2016

Field
Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, History, Archaeology

Duties
From a scholarly point of view, the candidates will use fieldwork materials to elaborate a research contribution aimed at understanding the complexity of the link between aesthetics and modes of authority in a South Asian or Southeast Asian country. This research can be in the following fields: history, anthropology, archaeology, epigraphy.

The two young scholars will need to contribute to the overall project by helping with the organization of the 2017 international conference and of workshops. They will assist the project heads by taking care of research administration duties and by tracking project deliverables.

Desired background
The candidates must hold a PhD in the social sciences, preferably in anthropology, ethnomusicology or history. This
diploma must have been obtained less than 5 years ago. They must have a solid grasp of one vernacular language from a South or Southeast Asian country. Perfect fluency in French and English is desirable. They must have a fair amount of experience in research administration and a great sense of teamwork.

Postdoctoral contract details
The candidates will be assigned to and hosted by the Centre Asie du Sud-­Est (CASE, Paris, CNRS/EHESS) and the Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud (CEIAS, Paris, CNRS/EHESS) respectively. In addition to their research duties, they will be expected to help with the preparation of the 2017 conference. Their scholarly
integration will be facilitated by the project heads. They will conduct research, which will be funded in part from the overall project budget. Their salary will be approximately 2,000 euros net per month for 10 months.

Application
The application file must be in PDF format and include:
• A curriculum vitae with a list of publications
• A copy of the PhD diploma or equivalent certificate
• The “rapport de thèse” (report on the PhD defense), or, only in the case of doctorates obtained from universities
that do not release such rapports de thèse, three letters of reference sent directly by the referees to the project heads.
• A project describing postdoctoral research and activities fitting in precisely with the AutoritAs project program
(5 pages maximum) – in French or English. The application file must be sent electronically to danarapp@cnrs.fr
and tizpulcino@hotmail.com, no later than 30th April 2016.