MCLC: Cambridge postdoc

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Barak Kushner <bk284 at cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Cambridge postdoc
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Postdoctoral Research Associate Position in East Asian History (Fixed Term)

Location: Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of
Cambridge
Salary: £28,132 - £36,661
Reference: GU02720
Closing date: 18 April 2014

Applicants are invited to apply for one fixed-term full-time post (two
years) of Research Associate to the ERC-funded project, The Dissolution of
the Japanese Empire and the Struggle for Legitimacy in Postwar East Asia,
1945-1965.

Applicants are encouraged to look at the project website
(http://www.warcrimesandempire.com/) and contact the project director, Dr
Barak Kushner, bk284 at cam.ac.uk, ahead of time.

Duties: The postdoctoral researcher will examine East Asian relations
concerning the dissolution of the Japanese empire and war crimes, widely
defined. The researcher will mainly focus on collecting, organizing and
analyzing Chinese, Japanese or Korean related archives dealing with this
topic. S/he will also examine relevant published texts and secondary
research in related languages and appropriate bibliographical references.
S/he will be expected to work toward producing his/her own monograph
within their contract time and perhaps an additional peer-reviewed
article. The researcher will also be required to assist in the
administration of the project (including various symposia), especially
organization of an international workshop and editing its proceedings. The
topic of the first international conference will be the "Breakdown of
Empire and Legitimacy in East Asia" (20-23 September 2014). Light teaching
of up to one class or supervisions may be required.

Requirements: The applicant should have completed his/her PhD, submitted
their thesis and had their viva (if necessary) by the time he or she
arrives at Cambridge for the start of the position (After 1 September
2014). A demonstrable commitment to the aims of the project and genuine
enthusiasm in such research will also be essential, as will the ability to
work effectively as part of a team and on individual initiative. A
research associate will be expected to have a thorough knowledge of at
least one East Asian language, and score at least a 7 on the IELTS English
language proficiency exam, or the equivalent. Candidates need not
necessarily have knowledge of the Japanese language but their research
must be related to the end of the Japanese empire and early Cold War.

Details about the Project: This five-year ERC funded project seeks to
understand how political rule and legal authority were redrafted in
postwar East Asia after the Japanese surrender in 1945. The research will
shed light on the social and political transformations that continue to
have resonance in our world in the form of East Asia's regional alliances
and Japan's relations with its closest neighbors, China, North and South
Korea, and Taiwan. The renovation of East Asia after the fall of the
Japanese empire has mainly been written from a western perspective, owing
to the preponderance of postwar American scholarship and its political
dominance. Even with the economic rise and growing importance of modern
China, the region's understanding of its own past and its internal
dynamics remain deeply rooted in the manner in which World War II ended.
The legal restructuring of East Asia and Japan's relations with its
neighbors played a vital function in redressing former imperial relations
in the early Cold War. The legal investigations and trials were the
definition of international law, a relatively new concept itself,
especially in East Asia. The legacy of these issues weighs heavily even
today because it provided a new vocabulary to East Asian polities to
consider the manner in which Japanese imperialism would be replaced and
adjudicated in the postwar.

 
To apply online for this vacancy, please go to the Faculty of Asian and
Middle Eastern Studies Faculty job vacancy page and the link to the
application site at the bottom.

(http://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/general_info/jobs/empirewarcrimes-ra.html)
Please quote reference GU02720 on your application and in any
correspondence about this vacancy.

Interviews to take place in week commencing 28 April 2014.

The University values diversity and is committed to equality of
opportunity. The University has a responsibility to ensure that all
employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.