Population Geography Research Group

The Centre for Medical Humanities and the Department of Geography seek to appoint a Reader in Social Science for Medical Humanities from 1st September 2009 or as soon as possible thereafter. S/he will be based for the first four years in the Centre for Medical Humanities, a unique research centre funded by The Wellcome Trust at Durham University, in a predominantly research post. Thereafter, the successful candidate will have a permanent position with the normal balance of research, teaching and administration in the Department of Geography.

More information: https://jobs.dur.ac.uk/jobdtls.asp?Session_in=&Uid=&vref=3097 

The successful candidate will show a good theoretical and practical understanding of one or more of the following topics relating to the interactions of the arts and humanities with health, medical practice and wellbeing: the place of creativity in human flourishing and wellbeing; practices and policies that aim to promote wellbeing and health through arts based practices relations between flourishing, embodiment, wellbeing and health relations between the sciences, the arts and medical practice explorations of public engagement within medicine, arts and other forms of social policy with a view to enhancing wellbeing and health

The successful applicant will have knowledge and skills which provide the capacity and aptitude to work in a multi-disciplinary team which includes medical, social science and humanities scholars and arts practitioners; a good grasp of current theoretical and empirical agenda within contemporary health practice; and the capacity and aptitude for public engagement with key institutions and user groups.

Applicants must state how they will contribute to the four year programme of work of the Centre for Medical Humanities in terms of research themes, international excellence and recognition, experience in recruitment of doctoral students and existing esteem indicators. The letter of application must include a personal research plan, which supports and enhances the research strategy of the Department.

The successful candidate will join one of the leading centres of geographical scholarship in the world. With 58 academics, 31 researchers, 16 professional support staff, 33 administrative and technical staff, 123 postgraduates, and 579 undergraduates, we teach and research across the discipline from Antarctica to Bangladesh, from spatial theory to flood modelling, and from GIS to the social economy. Our aim is to create and sustain a world class research and teaching environment with top class laboratories and IT facilities in a supportive and collegial atmosphere. The Department was founded in 1928 and remains among the strongest in the country. It was ranked joint first nationally in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise and the quality of our teaching has been rated ‘excellent’ by an external Quality Assessment Audit. Recognition extends to the most recent university guides, which consistently place the Department of Geography at Durham in the top flight. Our strength lies in all the people who work in the Department and in the students who study here.As well as the Centre for Medical Humanities, there are opportunities to become involved with other interdisciplinary University Institutes that engage in health-related research: the Wolfson Research Institute; the Institute for Hazard and Risk Research.

The successful candidate will have an established international profile for their work on relevant aspects of wellbeing, health and the humanities, of a standard commensurate with the department’s recognition as one of the leading research centres in the recent Research Assessment exercise. S/he will be able to attract and supervise graduate students, continue to build a portfolio of publications of the highest quality, and be able to secure the necessary research funding for her/his research and provide excellent teaching in the undergraduate programme.