Category Archives: Jobs

Postdoctoral Opportunity: Université de Lausanne

French fluent readers may be interested in a postdoctoral opportunity at Université de Lausanne. The successful applicant will work with Rémy Amouroux on the project “MInd Control in french-speaking Europe (MICE) : The Scientific and Cultural Reception of Behaviour Therapy in France, Switzerland and Belgium (1960-1990).” More details below:

Vos activités

Dans vos fonctions, vous serez notamment amené·e à :

  • Développer une activité de recherche personnelle dans le champ de l’histoire de la psychologie et de la psychothérapie (50% du taux d’activité) ;
  • Participer au projet FNS MICE et notamment coordonner l’axe « digital history » du projet ainsi que la participation à l’enseignement (50% du taux d’activité).

La·le candidat·e sélectionné·e devra développer une activité de recherche en histoire de la psychologie/de la psychothérapie et plus largement des savoirs et pratiques « psy ». Idéalement ces travaux devraient être en lien avec le projet de recherche financé par le FNS “MInd Control in french-speaking Europe (MICE) : The Scientific and Cultural Reception of Behaviour Therapy in France, Switzerland and Belgium (1960-1990)” dont l’objectif est d’étudier la réception scientifique et culturelle des thérapies comportementales dans le contexte francophone. Le profil de recherche est cependant ouvert à tous projets portant sur l’histoire des savoirs et pratiques « psy ». En outre, la personne coordonnera l’axe « digital history » du projet en collaboration avec le reste de l’équipe. Il n’est pas nécessaire d’être un·e expert·e dans ce domaine (une formation sera assurée). L’objectif principal sera de mener une mission de coordination entre l’équipe à Lausanne et celle à Groningen.

Full details can be found here.

3 year Post-Doctoral Fellowship with Hidden Persuaders

The Wellcome Trust funded ‘Hidden Persuaders? Brainwashing, Culture, Clinical Knowledge and the Cold War Human Sciences, c. 1950-1990’ has announced a new 3-year post-doctoral fellowship. Applications for the position are due April 13th and interviews will take place April 28th. The project, lead by historian Daniel Pick, investigates how

The reputations of the ‘psy’ professions – and the status of their ideas – were altered by controversies, myths and testimonies about ‘brainwashing’ in its various guises during the Cold War. Our project uncovers new source materials and promotes original analyses of the involvement (real and perceived) of clinicians in brainwashing and its cognate practices of interrogation, psychological warfare, subliminal advertisement, and therapeutic experimentation. We consider what ethical guidelines and safeguards, past or present, have been formulated to deal with the dangers of mind control so powerfully articulated during the Cold War.

By exploring these historical debates over mind control and their continuing legacies for psy expertise, Hidden Persuaders offers timely historical analysis of continuing present-day controversies. The language of ‘brainwashing’ continues to influence, in diverse and unexpected ways, present understanding of the relationship between the individual and the state; the nature of the therapeutic encounter between patient and psy-professional; and the borderlands between education, persuasion and indoctrination.

Full details about the post-doctoral fellowship:

The new post-doctoral fellow will work closely with the Hidden Persuaders team to produce original research, organise academic conferences and public events, and also assist with various other outputs in the form of edited volumes, film, web resources and more. The post-doc will join our growing network of historians and practitioners of psychoanalysis, psychiatry and psychology, and should focus his/her research contributions on one or more distinct strands of the Hidden Persuaders project.

We would welcome applications from academics with prior knowledge of the history of psychoanalysis, psychiatry and/or psychology. Some previous familiarity with post-war political and/or cultural history would also be an asset. A working knowledge of one or more European languages other than English, e.g., Russian, German, Spanish or French would be useful, as would facility in one or more Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Khmer or Malay). The ability and willingness of the appointee to travel and work for several weeks at a stretch in overseas archives (as required) is essential, as part of the post-doctoral fellow’s task will be to gather and analyse data on perceptions and use of psychological warfare and indoctrination in various Cold War campaigns overseas.

The closing date for completed applications is midnight on Wednesday 13 April 2016.

Interviews will be held on Thursday 28 April 2016.

For further information, please consult the job announcement on Birkbeck’s website.

Become Wellcome Library’s Wikimedian in Residence!

The Reading Room at Wellcome Collection. Wellcome Images reference: C0108488.
The Reading Room at Wellcome Collection. Wellcome Images reference: C0108488.

Phoebe Harkins, the  Library Communications Co-ordinator at Wellcome, has posted an application announcement for a new contractual position of Wikimedian in Residence on their blog (flexible 6-12 months, depending on the projects the Wikimedian proposes and develops).

Excerpts from the post:

Incurably curious? Interested in the history of medicine? Know a bit about Wikipedia?

Our collections cover so much more than the history of medicine – essentially life, death and everything in between, so there’s huge potential for improving the content on Wikipedia. We’ll also be looking at enriching other Wikimedia projects.

The Wikimedian will work with us on the project to help develop areas of Wikipedia covered by our amazing holdings. We’d love you to help us to make our world-renowned collections, knowledge and expertise here at the Wellcome Library even more accessible.

Application deadline is February 2nd 2016

Harkins contact is  p.harkins@wellcome.ac.uk

Find the full post here for more info.

AHA Online Calendar

FYI, the American Historical Association’s website includes a handy dandy calendar tool that provides a chronology of wide-ranging relevant content for those interested in the happenings of the historical discipline more broadly. Included are meetings and seminars, exhibitions and interpretive resources, as well as awards and fellowships.

Follow this link to check it out!

Call for Nominations: History of Psychology Journal Editor

History of Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association, has issued a call for nominations for journal editor. David Dunning, PhD has been appointed chair of the search. The nomination deadline is January 11, 2014 and the candidates should be prepared to start receiving manuscripts in 2015. The journal is described as,

History of Psychology features refereed articles addressing all aspects of psychology’s past and of its interrelationship with the many contexts within which it has emerged and has been practiced. It also publishes scholarly work in closely related areas, such as historical psychology (the history of consciousness and behavior), psychohistory, theory in psychology as it pertains to history, historiography, biography and autobiography, the teaching of the history of psychology, and data mining regarding the history of psychology.

Details of the nomination procedure follow below.

Candidates should be members of APA and should be available to start receiving manuscripts in early 2015 to prepare for issues published in 2016. Please note that the P&C Board encourages participation by members of underrepresented groups in the publication process and would particularly welcome such nominees. Self-nominations are also encouraged.

Nominate candidates through APA’s EditorQuest website.

Prepared statements of one page or less in support of a nominee can also be submitted by email to Sarah Wiederkehr, P&C Board Search Liaison.

Deadline for accepting nominations is January 11, 2014, when reviews will begin.

Digital history position at Harvard

It’s true: there’s a job opening at Harvard!

Harvard University is seeking a “Preceptor” in digital history.

We are looking for a promising scholar to implement a vision for digital history in the department and beyond. The preceptor will be responsible for offering support and instruction in digital history and for coordinating departmental initiatives in digital research and pedagogy.

The affiliation would be with the Department of History, but they are also accepting applications from PhDs in allied areas (specialization open). The challenge comes on the digital side:

Experience in aspects of the digital humanities relevant to historians, for example, the use of large data sources, database creation and management, data visualization, digital mapping, text mining and mark-up, and experience in using and developing digital tools and platforms in the teaching, research, and presentation of history…. A strong doctoral record is preferred, and knowledge of programming is a plus.

The deadline for applications is 1 March 2013. It is a 1-year, limited-term, non-tenure-track position.

Ryerson jobs

Ryerson University, in Toronto, has posted for a tenure-track position specializing in history/theory/systems. Details are here. There is also a sessional position, teaching their history of psychology course, for next semester (here).

Update: The deadline for the tenure-track position has been extended to November 30. The new posting is here.

History of Science Job at Oregon

The University of Oregon in Eugene has posted a job for a historian of science at their undergraduate honors college. The announcement reads, in part:

The Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon seeks to hire two tenure-track Assistant Professors of History with expertise in the History of the Sciences and in the History of the Arts to teach in an interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum. Period and region are open. Continue reading History of Science Job at Oregon

WSJ: Historians have 7th best job in America

According to the Wall Street Journal, historians have the 7th best job in America.  (Career Cast, which partnered with WSJ to do the survey, defined an historian as someone who “analyzes and records historical information from a specific era or according to a particular area of expertise.”)

To put things in perspective, here are a bunch of related jobs that the readers of AHP might have chosen as a career instead: Sociologist is #8, Philosopher is #12, Publication Editor is #31, Anthropologist is #40, Librarian is #43, School Principal (including at colleges and universities) is #48, Psychologist is #59, Technical Writer is #60, Museum Curator is #66, Author is #93, and Psychiatrist is #100.

Although being an historian is more stressful than the other top 6 jobs, it also pays less (an average of $61,000 per year). But, then again, undertakers — who also work with the dead — work longer hours in a more stressful environment for even less pay.  So it could be worse.  They rank #164.

University professor isn’t in the top 200.