Post-Doctoral Researcher in Law/Criminology (CONSPACE Project) (21 Month contract)

The Role

We are seeking a post-doctoral researcher (21 months) to join the CONSPACE project team. CONSPACE (‘Contested Space: Penal Nationalism and the Northern Ireland Border’) is a 4-year Irish Research Council Starting Laureate Award-funded project led by Principal Investigator, Dr Lynsey Black.

CONSPACE takes Northern Ireland’s border/s as an organising concept; it investigates successive phases of penal nationalism, each of which has been distinguished by the centrality of the border. CONSPACE works from an explicitly interdisciplinary base, drawing on historical enquiry and sociological analysis of the contemporary world, encompassing extensive archival, documentary and participant research across a diversity of research strands.

We are seeking to appoint a post-doctoral researcher to conduct research within the remit of strand 3, ‘Immigration’. This research strand investigates the intersection of immigration and the border, exploring the historical incidence of cross-border movement and immigration, as well as the experiences and meanings of the border for both migrant communities and the wider public in Northern Ireland. Working through historical, sociological, criminology and socio-legal lenses, this strand of the project will investigate institutions for, practices of, and discourses on immigration, as well resistance to state immigration controls.

The post-doctoral researcher will assume significant autonomy on this project strand with oversight from Dr Black. An initial literature review will be conducted. The post-doctoral researcher will also undertake contemporary media and political research. These enquiries will map the recent trajectory of debate on immigration in Northern Ireland, encompassing the influence of ‘Brexit’ debates, but also the phenomenon of hate crimes against migrant communities in Northern Ireland and the salience of the issue in the public arena. The post-doctoral researcher will also undertake empirical participant research, including focus groups and interviews. In addition to these strand-specific duties, the successful candidate will also support the Principal Investigator in carrying out other tasks related to the project.

The ideal candidate will have:

Essential

• Applicants will have a PhD in Law/Criminology or a related discipline, ideally in a topic related to research strand 3, ‘Immigration’;
• Excellent research skills;
• A record of scholarly work and publication appropriate to career stage;
• Excellent English language writing and speaking skills;
• Ability to work with a great degree of autonomy, manage workloads, deadlines and responsibilities;
• Excellent interpersonal skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of qualitative methods, particularly experience of conducting participant research such as focus groups/interviews and qualitative research methods;
• General knowledge of related areas to border criminology, migration studies and/or sociology of punishment, immigration law and policy;
• Previous experience in interdisciplinary research;
• Previous experience of team work.

For further details including full comprehensive job description please see reference number 030241 on the Maynooth University vacancies page at: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/human-resources/vacancies

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