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

PhD position on young men, masculinities, and environmental changes in Greenland Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) 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 employment for 3 years. The position is full-time (40 hours a week). The employment will be at Ilisimatusarfik (Greenland University) and the candidate must reside in Nuuk, Greenland, throughout the PhD program. It is expected that one semester will be completed as a visiting 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 (ages 18–29) 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 young men's well-being, 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 also 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 the 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 PhD 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 goals 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, which ensures access to a broad and internationally oriented research training environment.

The PhD fellow 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 guidance and in collaboration with the project group, be responsible for: Designing and conducting qualitative empirical research among young men in Greenland.
• To plan and execute 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.

The PhD position is a research training position. The PhD student will receive training in conducting independent research at an international level and gain experience in research communication and, where relevant, teaching.

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.
• The following will be an advantage: Knowledge of Greenlandic society and institutions
• Experience with fieldwork in small or peripheral communities

Assessment

• 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.

The project proposal must not exceed [e.g. 5 pages / 12,000 characters including spaces, depending on the institution's requirements].

Employment procedure

All received applications will be processed by a hiring committee.

Application

• Applications must be submitted in English, Danish, or Greenlandic and include: Motivated application letter
• CV
• Documentation of educational qualifications, including transcripts
• PhD project proposal including: Project description
• Publication plan
• Education plan
• Course plan
• Budget

Documentation for any additional research or teaching qualifications (if relevant)

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 some part-time programs 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. 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 of Society, Economics & Journalism
• Institute of Culture, Language & History
• Institute of Health & Nature

About the Joint Administration

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