India related Scholarships in Germany: 2 PhD Scholarships and 2 Post-doctoral Scholarships, University of Heidelberg

February 25, 2009

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The Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe’ in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows” at the University of Heidelberg is offering:

2 PhD scholarships (2 + 1 years)

2 Post-doctoral scholarships (12 months)

within the Research Project C4 “Making India a Global Health Care Destination: A Social Study of High-Tech Hospitals and Neo-Oriental Spas”, Research Area C (Health and Environment).

The candidates are expected to develop PhD or Post-doctoral projects within the Project C4’s research focus: This project addresses the fast growing sector of medical and wellness tourism in India, and attempts to understand the ways by which India is promoted as a global health care destination. It examines the social and cultural encounters which prevail in such situations, and comprises four main, interrelated research axes: 1/ National and international marketing strategies as they pertain to marketing networks, cost, and the use of high-tech representations and neo-oriental images; 2/ Transformation of infrastructure and the use of ‘place’. How are ideas of culture combined, transformed, erased or emphasized according to various clinical settings and their location?; 3/ Issues of ‘cultural translation’ as they pertain to the explanation of therapeutic action, and to the translation of biomedical or Asian medical terminologies. Matters of language and communication strategies are explored. Emphasis is given to examining the means deployed to facilitate cultural understanding between patients and medical practitioners in these contexts; 4/ Globalization and the transformation of therapeutic practices. What impact does trans-national healthcare have on preexisting biomedical and other therapeutic practices in India? The analytic baseline is concerned with the flows and mutual shaping of ideas, images, techniques, objects and bodies; patterns of self-representation (practitioners and patients); cultural stereotypes; the cultural dimension of health economics and the transformation of India’s health care sector. Please refer to www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de for further information on the Cluster and the Project C4.

Applicants for the PhD Scholarships are required to hold a Masters degree or equivalent for less than a year. Applicants for the post-doctoral scholarships are required to hold a PhD since no longer than three years. The fellowships are opened to scholars in anthropology, cultural geography and cultural economy. The subject can be explored from the perspectives developed in the social studies of medicine and/or in migration studies. The PhD projects should have their primary focus on biomedical tourism and biomedical health care. The Post-doctoral projects should cover either medical or wellness tourism.

Applicants are expected to have an excellent academic standing. They must be fluent in English, and have a good command of an Indian language. They are encouraged and expected to pursue independent research and will participate in the meeting of the research group, where we are developing a comparative theoretical and conceptual base for the project. Applications from women, ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities are encouraged. The positions available are open to both EU and overseas students.

The PhD candidates are invited to use the research environment of the Heidelberg Cluster of Excellence and are entitled and encouraged to participate in the Graduate Program of the Cluster and the Research Group activities. The PhD projects will be supervised by the Project C4 Leader and the Coordinator of the Research Area C. The post-doctoral fellows will be based in Heidelberg, and are expected to participate in the activities of the Cluster and Research Group. They will be placed under the supervision of the Project C4 Leader and the Coordinator of the Research Area C.

The PhD candidates and the postdoctoral fellows are offered a monthly tax-free scholarship in accordance with the German academic standards (with supplements for children) and access to travel funds, technical equipment and institutional support. It is possible to apply for further financial help for language courses or similar. The PhD scholarships will be awarded for two years with a possible renewal for another year after successful evaluation. The Post-doctoral scholarship will be awarded for 12 months, non renewable.

The scholarships will start on 1st June 2009 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Applicants are asked to submit a CV, copies of university degrees (scanned), two letters of recommendation (to be sent directly by their authors to the Project C4 Leader), and a project in English. The research project should not exceed 9 pages, including a 300 words abstract, a detailed project (5 pages), a critical bibliography, the insertion of the individual project in the larger programme, a calendar and the expected results for the duration of the project.

Applications should be submitted by April 15th 2009. Interviews will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Please send your application by email to:

Laurent Pordié
Research Group Leader (C4)
Cluster of Excellence “Asia & Europe”
University of Heidelberg
Email: pordie@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de

Scholarship Tags: germany, Heidelberg, India, PhD, Postdoctoral, scholarships, University