Doctoral Researcher “Figurations of the Precarious in the Global South” (Tübingen)

Doctoral Researcher (m/f/d, E13 TV-L, 75%)

DFG Research Training Group 3105 “Figurations of the Precarious in the Global South”

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Global South Studies at the University of Tübingen invites applications for 6 doctoral positions (E 13 TV-L, 75%, temporary positions for 4 years) that will form part of our Research Training Group 3105, starting April 1, 2026.

What we set out to do:

The Research Training Group 3105 takes up the challenge of critically testing the scope of the precarious – and derivatives such as precarity, precariousness, and precarisation – as categories of cultural and social analysis in the Global South. Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach at the crossroads of transregional studies on Asia, Africa, and Latin America, we aim to examine the social and cultural production of the precarious within broader dynamics of interdependence. We investigate how individual and collective social actors perceive and interpret everyday situations, social conditions, and interactional scenarios as precarious.
Additionally, we focus on the cultural references they draw upon to make sense of precarity as well as the tactics, strategies, navigational capacities, and repertoires of resistance they mobilize to deal with the precariousness of their existence and the precarisation of their living conditions.

We build on a high degree of international interconnectedness with partner universities in the Global South and encourage our doctoral researchers to look beyond the conventional subject areas of their disciplines.
The research activities will be organised in five thematic plateaus that explore specific fields of struggle in the Global South, wherein disputes over the precarious are particularly productive in a social, cultural or political sense:

The call is aimed at applicants from literature, cultural and media studies, anthropology, sociology, educational and political science, law, history, ethics and sustainability research as well as area studies on Africa, South Asia and Latin America. We expect specialist expertise on one or more regions in the Global South.
An excellent Master’s degree in a relevant discipline is required.

Applicants must submit a thematically innovative project pertaining to figurations of theprecarious in the Global South. The project should be highly compatible with interdisciplinarydiscussions. A strong interest in the development of theoretical and methodological questionsrelated to the figurations of the precarious is expected.
Applicants should bring in skills in teamwork in order to be able to participate in ourcollaborative writing workbench, the collective organisation of our outreach programme andother academic events.
Applicants must have adequate language skills in academic English to actively participate in theresearch and qualification programme. A certificate in English at level C1 (CEFR) must besubmitted during the first year of enrolment.
The pertinent regulations establish that the doctoral thesis is written in German or English. In exception to this rule, the relevant faculty committees may decide on the permissibility of other languages such as French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

• Proposal for a PhD project (8-10 pages, in English)
• Motivation letter (2-3 pages, in English)
• Academic curriculum vitae (in English)
• Master’s certificate (or equivalent) and Transcript of Records
• Master’s thesis and relevant academic publications
• 2 letters of recommendation by scholars in your field of study

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Please hand in your application via e-mail by September 15, 2025, . Attachments should be in pdf only and notexceed 10MB.
We strongly encourage applications from qualified women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. The University of Tübingen is committed to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion. Candidates with disabilities will be given preference if equally qualified.

The employment will be handled by the central administration of the University of Tübingen.