Research Associate in the Ethics of Digitalization

About us:

Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg is receiving €22.5 million from the Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation through the funding initiative “Strategically Unleashing Potential” to sharpen its academic profile and strengthen its national and international competitiveness. The funding supports the project “A Programme for Excellence. Developing Strengths and Building Potentials by Interdisciplinary and International Networking.”

As part of this initiative, the university is strategically developing the field of Digital Social Sciences and Humanities (DSSH) in order to establish the university as an internationally visible center for digital innovation in the humanities and social sciences on a permanent basis.

The position advertised here is part of this initiative and is situated within the Faculty’s research focus “Entangled Cultures Digital and Reflective Data Exploration.” The position is based at the Professorship of Ethics of Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Anna-Verena Nosthoff). The department’s main areas of focus include the influence of large technology companies on democratic societies, forms of power and domination in the fields of digitalization and datafication, the ethics and politics of immersive technologies, as well as new forms of technological authoritarianism and their ideological foundations.
Your tasks:

• Develop an independent research project on the ethical and societal consequences of the use of digital methods in the humanities and cultural studies, particularly in the context of cultural heritage research, with a focus on digital infrastructures, data practices, algorithmic decision-making systems, questions of digital sovereignty, and dependence on platforms (Big Tech).
• Contribute to the development of inter- and transdisciplinary research questions at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and data science — particularly in the areas of digital entangled cultural history and cultural data exploration, as well as questions concerning digital knowledge production, data infrastructures, algorithmic methods, and their societal and epistemic implications in the context of a reflexive digital transformation.
• Contribute to the development of a DSSH Lab as a central research and training institution.
• Co-develop and teach courses in the area of “Reflexive Digital Transformation.”
• Contribute to the development of a joint DSSH collaborative research proposal together with the relevant professorships and other institutions, targeting major funding organizations such as the German Research Foundation (DFG), Horizon Europe, the Volkswagen Foundation, etc.
  Your profile: Required Qualifications
• A university degree (Diploma or Master’s) in philosophy or a comparable field.
• Publications in the fields of ethics of digitalization, Digital Humanities, Digital Cultures, Platform Studies, Critical Data Studies, philosophy of technology, cultural heritage research, or related fields.
• Excellent written and spoken English Desirable/preferred qualifications
• Experience in interdisciplinary collaboration
• Completed doctorate or, at a minimum, a submitted dissertation in philosophy or a related field
• Good written and spoken German
  We offer:
• A lively, productive, interdisciplinary, and increasingly international working environment.
• The opportunity to contribute to establishing an innovative DSSH Lab that will help shape the future of the humanities and social sciences in the digital age.
• The opportunity to contribute strategically and substantively to a collaborative research proposal that will further sharpen your own research profile.
• Access to the international and interdisciplinary network of the Critical Data Lab (University of Oldenburg / Humboldt University Berlin).A family-friendly working environment and flexible working conditions.Our standards: The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.Further information: Opportunities for further academic qualification (habilitation or equivalent achievements) are available.