PhD Position on Young Men, Masculinities, and Environmental Changes in Greenland

SEARCH THIS POSITION Ilisimatusarfik (Greenland University) invites applications for a PhD position within the research project Masculinity, Care, and Environmental Changes: Young Men's Lives in Greenland.

The position is available from May 1 or as soon as possible thereafter. The PhD position is a fixed-term academic appointment for 3 years. The position is full-time (40 hours per week). The employment will be at Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) and the candidate must reside in Nuuk, Greenland, throughout the PhD program. It is expected that one semester will be completed as a guest researcher abroad.

About the PhD position

The PhD scholarship is an integral part of the research project Masculinity, Care, and Environmental Changes: Young Men's Lives in Greenland, which examines how young Greenlandic men (18–29 years) experience, construct, and negotiate masculinity, care, and belonging in a context marked by environmental changes, urbanization, the transformation of the welfare state, and colonial legacies.

Subsistence practices such as hunting and fishing, historically central to masculine identity and social status, are increasingly destabilized by environmental changes, altered labor markets, and unequal access to education. At the same time, research documents significant challenges related to the well-being of young men, including social marginalization, loneliness, substance abuse, violence, and high suicide rates. Despite this, young men, particularly young fathers, are underrepresented in both research and political debates in the Arctic.

The overall purpose of the project is to generate in-depth and context-sensitive knowledge about how young men navigate these changes, including how care, responsibility, and relational practices are embedded in everyday life. The project contributes to international research on masculinities, care, and welfare in peripheral and Arctic contexts while simultaneously producing knowledge with direct relevance to policy and practice.

Research focus

The overarching research question that guides the project is:

How do young Greenlandic men construct and negotiate gendered identities in a context of social and environmental changes, and how do these identity practices vary across social roles (e.g., fatherhood) and between urban and peripheral areas?

The project is qualitative and multi-sited and combines life history interviews, participant observation, focus groups, as well as document and media analysis. Fieldwork will primarily be conducted in Nuuk and Qaqortoq. The project is theoretically grounded in masculinity studies, care theory, as well as colonial and environmental studies, and employs a practice-oriented and context-sensitive analytical approach.

The Ph.D. project constitutes a central part of the overall research project. Applicants are therefore expected to clearly develop their project proposals within the frameworks and research objectives described above.

Research environment and PhD program

PhD students will be enrolled at the University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik) and affiliated with the university's research center Ilisimatusarfik Center for Arctic Welfare. The PhD program is organized in close collaboration with international academic partners, including Roskilde University, ensuring access to a broad and internationally oriented research training environment.

The Ph.D. student will be part of a strong interdisciplinary research collaboration with Greenlandic and international researchers and will work closely with local institutions, organizations, and communities in Greenland.

Areas of responsibility and tasks

The PhD student will, under supervision and in collaboration with the project group, be responsible for:

• To design and conduct qualitative empirical research among young men in Greenland.
• To plan and carry out fieldwork in collaboration with local partners and institutions.
• To analyze empirical material and develop theoretically grounded interpretations.
• To produce scientific articles and a PhD dissertation
• To communicate research results to both academic audiences as well as practitioners, decision-makers, and local communities.

Qualifications

Applicants must have:

• A relevant master's degree in social sciences (e.g. sociology, anthropology, social work, or related fields) with good academic results.
• Documented experience with qualitative research methods
• Strong analytical skills and interest in gender, masculinities, care, welfare, and/or Arctic communities
• Ability to work independently and as part of an international and interdisciplinary research team
• Good skills in Greenlandic and English, both written and spoken.

• Knowledge of Greenlandic society and institutions
• Experience with fieldwork in small or peripheral communities

When assessing applicants, emphasis will be placed on:

• The relevance of the applicant's professional background
• The quality, coherence, and feasibility of the PhD project proposal.
• Methodological and analytical competencies
• The applicant's overall ability to complete a PhD program.

Employment procedure

All received applications will be processed by a recruitment committee.

Application

Applications must be submitted in English, Danish, or Greenlandic and must include:

• Motivated application letter
• CV
• Documentation of educational qualifications, including transcripts

• Project description
• Publication plan
• Education plan
• Course plan
• Budget

Contact/information:

Further information about the position can be obtained by contacting Institute Director Annemette Nyborg Lauritsen at +299 347360 and Project Leader Professor Steven Arnfjord at +299 347331. If you would like more information about the University of Greenland, you can read more at www.uni.gl.

About Ilisimatusarfik

Ilisimatusarfik, Greenland's University, was established in 1987 and currently offers 13 different programs, including options for part-time studies at both diploma and master's levels. Ilisimatusarfik is an Arctic university that creates knowledge and innovation in a rapidly developing region. The board is the university's highest management body. The daily management is handled by the rector and the university director. The four institutes are led by an institute head, who is advised by an institute council.

Ilisimatusarfik consists of 4 institutes:

• Institute for Learning
• Institute for Society, Economics & Journalism
• Institute for Culture, Language & History
• Institute of Health & Nature

The Joint Administration serves the entire university. It is led by the university director. The Joint Administration has departments in Ilimmarfik. The departments work closely with the academic units, but also collaborate with each other. The tasks of the Joint Administration include: student administration, personnel administration, servicing the board and the Academic Council, as well as other service functions for the university's staff and students. The Joint Administration is also responsible for the building operations of Ilimmarfik.

Salary and employment conditions

Salary and employment conditions, including the right to travel for joining and leaving and relocation of personal belongings, in accordance with the agreement/collective agreement in force at the time of commencement between the Government of Greenland and the relevant negotiating organization.

Housing

No staff housing is provided for the position. If an applicant already has staff housing through employment in the Self-Government, the right to assigned staff housing is retained. The staff housing is linked to the employment relationship and must be vacated upon termination of the employment relationship.

3 months probation period

In this position, there is a 3-month probation period.

Submit your application, CV, educational and course certificates, as well as other relevant documents by clicking "Send application."

We do not accept applications via email.

About the Government of Greenland

If you are looking for challenges and want to influence everyday life through your work and help shape the future, then a job with the Government of Greenland is something for you.

We expect a high level of responsibility and value professional qualifications, a sound analytical approach to tasks, and adaptability in our employees. Additionally, your ability to structure your daily routine and maintain an overview is important.

Greenland's Self-Government consists of a Central Administration with more than 650 employees distributed across several departments, as well as a number of decentralized units. Together, we are more than 2500 people associated with Greenland's Self-Government. The task of the Central Administration is to provide the Naalakkersuisut (government) with a solid political decision-making basis and to implement the political decisions.

You can read more about Greenland's Self-Government at http://www.naalakkersuisut.gl/job