Master degree grants
Master Degree grants
Stiftelsen Arkivet, a centre for historical reflection and peace building, will award three Master Degree grants worth NOK 25 000 to three postgraduate students focusing their thesis on the key areas of:
• “Transforming Compassion”
• “Transitional Justice; Memory, storytelling and reconciliation”. How should former conflict societies best deal with the conflicting past to secure the foundation for a future of lasting peace and democracy?
• “Second World War history in the Agder region”
These are three key areas of research at Stiftelsen Arkivet, and thus contributing to further research in these fields is one of our primary goals. The criteria for each subject area will be highlighted below:
Compassion
In 2008 Stiftelsen Arkivet initiated its research project “Transforming Compassion”, which seeks to investigate the origins of empathic agency, as well as highlighting the factors that condition and facilitate compassion. The concept of compassion has previously received attention from individual academic disciplines, but there has been a lack of interdisciplinary cooperation and dialogue in defining the concept. Thus, we seek to rectify this by inviting participants from all academic disciplines to begin research on the concept of compassion.
Compassion is a broad concept that can have significantly different meanings in each academic discipline, therefore it is of great practical and theoretical value to highlight the nature and use of compassion in various areas. For example how do teachers use compassion in the classroom, how do advertising executives use compassion to market products (ie fair trade), how is compassion used in various societies and cultures, how can compassion be utilized as a conflict resolution mechanism or what are the thoughts and motivations behind USA’s so called foreign policy of compassion in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa? The possibilities are many, and as part of our multi-disciplinary research we invite candidates from all academic backgrounds to investigate issues related to the concept of compassion.
The concept of historical consciousness is an important part of modern history didactics. An essential part of this concept is the understanding of how the three time dimensions past, present
and future are interrelated in understanding how histories of the past may enables us to act rationally in relation to present and future situations. This understanding has broadened our thinking on history as a subject in schools to include questions of how historical consciousness is part of being an active democratic citizen in a changing society, and how histories of the past may promote empathy and perspectives that may inform how we view present day situations. To achieve multiple perspectives on social reality is also a central part of a modern understanding of the concept of “dannelse”. Every year about 4 000 school children take part in a guided tour in the former “Gestapo Headquarters” at Arkivet. By relating the stories of the brutal past to present day challenges faced by the school children, Stiftelsen Arkivet uses history as an instrument to promote historical reflection and historical consciousness.
To learn more about these processes is of fundamental importance. We invite students to investigate different meanings and practical implications of the concepts historical didactics and historical consciousness from different academic disciplines such as pedagogic, historical science, psychology, theology and political science.
To learn more about the compassion project se the following links:
http://transformingcompassion.typepad.com/
Peace_master_degree_grants
Second World War history in the Agder region
Historical research makes the foundation of the storytelling and historical reflection. It’s therefore a vital goal for Stiftelsen Arkivet to gain more knowledge about Second World War history in the Agder region. The following issues (in Norwegian) are of great interest for Stiftelsen Arkivet to be studied in a MA thesis:
1) Setesdalsfelttoget 9.-15. april 1940. Et mørkt kapittel i Agders krigshistorie?
2) Brakkebaroner og jobbtid på Sørlandskysten 1940-45. Økonomisk landssvik?
3) Hvilken betydning fikk utbyggingen av ”Festung Norwegen” for befolkningen på Sørlandet under okkupasjonen 1940-45?
4) Kvinnens rolle i motstandsarbeidet i Agderfylkene 1940-45.
5) Barn under krigen: Krigens innvirkning på barns oppvekstvilkår i Agderfylkene under og rett etter okkupasjonen.
7) Landssvikoppgjøret i Aust- og Vest-Agder 1945-50.
It is also possible to apply for MA grants when writing about other issues than those above, under the subject Second World War history in the Agder region.
”Transitional Justice”: Memory, storytelling and reconciliation
How should former conflict societies best deal with the conflicting past in the process of shaping the foundation for a future of lasting peace and democracy?
This is one of the key themes behind much of the transitional justice literature addressing the various challenges faced by former conflict societies around the world.
We invite students to approach related questions from an interdisciplinary perspective:
• The question of how former conflict societies should best deal with the conflicting past could be answered from a legal/juridical perspective on the meaning and function of the tribunal as a confrontation with the conflicting past. For example from critical questions about the function and value of the tribunal versus Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.
• The question could be answered from philosophical discussions of concepts like; justice, truth and reconciliation related to the various challenges faced by former conflict societies. It could be answered from philosophical discussions of the relationship between time and narrative. One interesting question is what implications distance in time to the events in the past has for the meaning and function of the historical narratives?
• It could be answered from pedagogical and history-didactical perspectives on the function of the historical narratives and storytelling for the transitional processes in former conflict societies. Key concepts here are: historical consciousness and historical knowledge, empathy and understanding.
• It could be answered from sociological and psychological considerations of the relationship between personal and collective memory, and how re-narrations of these could lay the ground for an orientation towards a democratic and peaceful future.
• Or the question could be answered from perspectives based on theories of political science on democracy and the formation of new political and institutional frameworks as a reaction to the repressive system of the former regime. Key concepts here are social cohesion, democratic citizenship, and political culture, and collective and national identity.
Application
The application should be a brief summary of the candidate’s planned MA thesis and its relevance to the thematic focus of the Stiftelsen Arkivet MA grants. It should also consist of a brief project plan and a preliminary outline of the MA thesis. Please list previous academic degrees, accomplishments and publications etc. of relevance to the MA thesis.
Mandatory enclosures
• Project outline
• CV
• Certified copies of academic diplomas
• Certificates/testimonials/letters of reference relating to previous experience
Optional enclosures
• Copies of relevant publications (the documents will not be returned to the applicant)
Application procedure
The application must be sent both as hardcopy and electronically. The hardcopy, consisting of the application and any other enclosures, should be sent to Stiftelsen Arkivet, Vesterveien 4, 4613 Kristiansand, Norway. Please mark the envelope: MA grant. In addition, the application and CV must be sent electronically to grodum@stiftelsen-arkivet.no.
The application should not exceed 3 pages.
Handling of applications
The application deadline is 15th October 2009. The electronic version must be received by this date and the hardcopy version must be posted on this date at the latest. The selection of the three MA grantees will be made before 15th December 2009.
Grantee conditions
We invite students from both Norwegian universities and universities abroad to apply.
The thesis can be published in all Scandinavian languages and English, and it must be approved by the grantees academic institution/faculty before 15th June 2011. The grantee continues to relate to his/her academic institution and academic supervisor throughout the grantee period. Stiftelsen Arkivet’s academic resources will be at the grantee’s disposal.
The grantee is requested to present the MA thesis at a conference/academic gathering at Stiftelsen Arkivet in the first half-year following the publication of the MA thesis. Stiftelsen Arkivet will cover all expenses related to travel, accommodation and meals with regard to the presentation. Stiftelsen Arkivet reserves the right to publish the thesis in collaboration with the author.
Disbursement of funds
The grant of NOK 25 000 will be disbursed in two installments; NOK 12 500 will be disbursed at the signing of a contract between the grantee and Stiftelsen Arkivet. The remainder NOK 12 500 will be disbursed when the MA thesis is approved, graded and printed. The grantee need to achieve grade B or better before the remainder 12 500 will be disbursed.
Stiftelsen Arkivet will provide the grantee with office accommodation, if requested. The grantee will also have access to Stiftelsen Arkivet’s library, our national and international contacts as well as the remainder specialist staff in the building. Indeed, if the grantee chooses to spend time writing at Stiftelsen-Arkivet they will have the opportunity to order relevant books for their thesis at Stiftelsen Arkivet’s expense. The grantee will thus be given the opportunity to participate in an active and progressive work environment.
Further information
For further information about the criteria for application and the grant, please contact Research coordinator, Mr Kjetil Grødum: grodum@stiftelsen-arkivet.no, or visit our website www.stiftelsen-arkivet.no