ERRANS environ/s
The ICI Berlin announces 12 postdoctoral fellowships for the Academic Years 2018-20
If what begins already finds itself in the thick of it, in the midst of something else, and among others elsewhere, what emerges, in the middle, at this mid-place or mi-lieu, does not thereby constitute a centre. Without starting or end point, this middle is deprived of any frame or foundation. Rigorously un-centred, such an emergence does not even have a well-defined position: it is diffuse, scattered, vague, blurred. This errant dimension of the milieu registers in the word ‘environment’: The French en-viron/en-virons (from Old French viron: ‘round, circle’) signifies both (as an adverb) a measure of imprecision or estimation and (as a noun, mostly in the plural) a surrounding region.
There is hardly a discipline, field, or discourse within the natural and social sciences nor the humanities that hasn’t long been transformed by the notions of milieu, environment, or Umwelt. The ICI Focus ‘ERRANS environ/s’ will contemplate aspects of this frequently divergent, potentially errant, and certainly ongoing transformation of not only the sciences or cultures of knowledge, but also cultural and artistic production at large. It will investigate the ways in which an attention to environments can have the effect of dissolving boundaries or making them permeable, questioning clear-cut distinctions, undermining naive ontologies, decentring the subject, folding nature and culture, and producing complex political ecologies attuned to far-reaching entanglements.
The ICI Berlin invites scholars from all disciplines to engage in a joint exploration of ERRANS environ/s. We especially welcome applications from individuals who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in scholarly research.
The committed exchange between fellows is a central aim of the Institute. Applicants should be interested in a theoretical reflection on the conceptual and intellectual basis of their projects and in discussing it with fellows from other disciplines. In particular, fellows will be expected to participate in the weekly colloquia, bi-weekly informal meetings, and other activities of the Institute, to contribute to a common publication, and to be resident in Berlin for the duration of the fellowship.
The fellowships announced are for the academic years 2018-20 (10 September 2018 – 17 July 2020). There is no age limit, but applicants should have obtained their PhD within ten years of the date of appointment or have submitted their PhD thesis by 1 March 2018. Stipends range from EUR 1900 to 2100 per month.
Interested applicants should read the full announcement and follow the application instructions.
Application deadline: 7 January 2018
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