A position is available at the University of Birmingham within the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN) CHIBOW (Children Born of War  - Past Present Future). The early stage researcher (ESRs) will work with the School of History and Cultures on different aspects of the life courses and experiences of Children Born of War (children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers) in different 20th century conflicts.
Background
The physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense and particularly so, if these children are associated with the enemy. Overwhelming evidence suggests that children born of war CBOW have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. At a global level, previous UN studies have further emphasized the lack of research on children born out of forced pregnancies in armed conflict. The proposed network addresses the described shortcomings by advancing the knowledge base through systematic analysis of lived experiences of CBOW in a variety of 20th century conflict and post-conflict situations.
The main research goal is to further our understanding of how (if at all) CBOW in conflict and post-conflict situations are integrated into society; how (if at all) militaries, governments, and nongovernmental policy makers assist this integration process; and how the children's lived experiences reflect broader societal attitudes to memories of war and vice versa. Our vision is to promote scientific excellence by exploiting the specific research expertise and infrastructure of the co-ordinating partner and all participants in order to advance the research competencies and employability of early career researchers. Their enhanced understanding of the challenges of CBOW in volatile societies will inform the normative debates and, ultimately, policies on the reintegration of CBOW into post-conflict societies. By combining historical, social empirical, psychiatric, political, legal, memory, public health and development studies with the discourse surrounding currently enacted humanitarian intervention, insights gained from this network will surpass existing knowledge and will help improve on current integration efforts.
At UoB we are particularly interested in historical and anthropological aspects of this topic.

The project is as follows:
World War II: the Asian Theatre of War: 
CBOW during China’s World War Two (1937-1945) and Civil War (1945-1949). The project will examine the experiences of children who were born by Chinese women of Japanese and Guomindang soldiers during the extended period of war. “War” is intentionally framed broadly to include the years following 1937 when the Communist and Guomindang Political Parties joined together to fight the Japanese invasion, and the years after August 1945 when Japan unconditionally surrendered, the Guomindang and Communist Political Parties resumed their civil conflict until 1949, when the People's Republic was declared in China.

Reading knowledge of Chinese is required, while reading knowledge of Japanese is desired but not required.

The ESR will also be trained through Advanced Training Courses and workshops, topical conferences, secondments to other consortium nodes and an ambitious and carefully planned research activities benefiting from the expertise of world-leading senior academics.

We are seeking enthusiastically motivated candidates with a strong academic record holding a Master degree in a relevant subject, fluency in English and other linguistic skills and subject knowledge as required by the individual research projects.
Given that the position is funded by the European Commission on a H2020-MSCA-ITN, eligibility restrictions apply. Candidates must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and not have a doctoral degree at the time of the appointment. Applicants can be of any nationality but must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the start date of the fellowship. The position is for three years, subject to a successful probation period.
To apply, please visit the University of Birmingham job search engine:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/jobs/index.aspx
Job reference: 51477