Senior Research Associate in Social and Political Philosophy
This is a three-year postdoctoral research position in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. The Research Associate will work as part of the ERC project Learning from Experience and Agency in Displacement (LEAD) led by Principal Investigator Dr Rebecca Buxton. The project critically investigates the possibility of refugee‑led approaches to displacement justice and builds new methods in the political and social philosophy of displacement. The role holder will have expertise in the political philosophy of migration and displacement and/or refugee and forced migration studies.
What will you be doing?
The role holder will work collaboratively as part of a project team consisting of the Principal Investigator, two postdoctoral Research Associates and two PhD students. The LEAD project runs in three phases:
* Phase I: build the critical foundations for a refugee‑led approach to displacement justice, including reconstructing the methodologies of debates in refugee studies and the political philosophy of refuge.
* Phase II: stress‑test the principles developed in Phase I by confronting key puzzles for the methodology, such as defining refugeehood, intergroup heterogeneity, representation, and epistemic injustice.
* Phase III: implement the novel methodology for political philosophers by engaging with refugee populations and refugee‑led organisations on questions of displacement justice.
The role holder is expected to conduct research primarily on the aspects of Phases 1 and 2, engaging in methodological reflection and meta‑philosophical debates on the contours of a refugee‑led approach to displacement justice.
You should apply if
* You have a PhD in Philosophy, Migration Studies, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, or a similar discipline (completed or submitted) by the time of appointment.
* You have research expertise in the philosophy of migration and displacement.
* You can conduct research independently and work effectively as part of a research team.
* You have an interest in interdisciplinary work that connects political philosophy with refugee and forced migration studies.
Contract and Working Conditions
* Contract type: Open‑ended with fixed funding from 01/09/26 to 31/08/29
* Work pattern: 1 FTE
* Grade: J
* School/Unit: School of Arts
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