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Dear Colleague, I would like pass along to you an announcement for a new, three-year postdoctoral position available at the University of Tromsø (where I currently teach). Tromsø is a beautiful place if you can handle two months per year of zero sunlight (around the Winter Solstice) and two months per year of zero nighttime (around the Summer Solstice). I was asked to revamp the below translation from Norwegian into idiomatic English, and I am a little concerned that I may have over-interpreted the paragraph that begins "Given the current view of religions...." If you can read a Scandinavian language, you should follow the link at the bottom of the page to the original, Norwegian announcement. Thank you. All the Best, Jim [James R. Lewis [log in to unmask]] Postdoc in the History of Religions Universityof Tromsø, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Department of History and Religious Studies Deadline: April 15, 2010 Mark application: REF 2010/837 A postdoctoral position is available in the History of Religions at the University of Tromsø, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Department of History and Religious Studies. The position is a three(3)-year temporary appointment. The successful candidate is expected to do research that fits under the broad heading, “Religious innovation in Northern Scandinavia and/or Northwest Russia.” The Department of History and Religious Studies is an international leader in research on religions in Northern Scandinavia, including research on Sami religions, Laestadianism and contemporary religious trends. This postdoctoral position on religious innovation in Northern Scandinavia and/or Northwest Russia will amplify the department’s competence in this broad area. The research project is open with regard to methodological and theoretical approach, as well as historical period and type of religion, but it must relate to Northern Scandinavia and/or Northwest Russia as a point of departure and empirical focus, and to the topic of religious innovation and entrepreneurship. Given the current view of religions as non-static, dynamic entities, the distinction between (1) natural changes that take place within pre-existing forms of religions, and (2) religious innovation, is more or less vague. It is nevertheless the case that the extent and intensity of innovation is not uniform across time and space, and that periods of increased innovation can be delimited. Internal as well as external factors may contribute to such variations. Among factors and conditions that might motivate innovation are, for example, cultural and/or religious encounters, processes of colonisation and decolonisation, and asymmetric power relations in local, regional, national and international contexts. The project is part of the University of Tromsø, the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, and the Department of History and Religious Studies’ strategic focus on Arctic and Northern issues, and might be conducted in cooperation or dialogue with other ongoing research projects. All of the historians of religions and several of the historians in the department have somehow dealt with religious innovation in their research. Ongoing research projects include CNN (Creating the New North), a larger study in which religion is one among many topics, the research school CEPIN (Citizenship, Encounters and Place Enactment in the North), as well as projects focusing on Sami religious revitalisation, new religions and Laestadianism. Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in history of religions or in a closely related academic discipline. Advanced skills in Scandinavian languages or English are required. Applicants should submit an outline of a research project (5–10 pages), including a time plan. The candidate is expected to complete the project within the timeframe of the position. Working hours will be reserved for research, research administration and other research related tasks. Postdoctoral positions that last for more than two (2) years, as in this case, may also include teaching duties or similar work. For further information about the position and the application process, please contact Associate Professor Siv Ellen Kraft (+47) 77 64 43 90 / [log in to unmask] Head of Administration Hans Petter Clemetsen (+47) 77 64 57 96 / [log in to unmask] For the full announcement (in Norwegian), see https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=65310