Three (3) PhD Positions in Social Anthropology, University of Birmingham, UK (2015-2016)

Three positions are available at the University of Birmingham within the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN) CHIBOW (Children Born of War - Past Present Future). The early stage researchers (ESRs) will work with the School of History and Cultures on different aspects of the life courses and experiences of Children Born of War (children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers) in different 20th century conflicts.

The physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense and particularly so, if these children are associated with the enemy. Overwhelming evidence suggests that children born of war CBOW have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. At a global level, previous UN studies have further emphasized the lack of research on children born out of forced pregnancies in armed conflict. The proposed network addresses the described shortcomings by advancing the knowledge base through systematic analysis of lived experiences of CBOW in a variety of 20th century conflict and post-conflict situations.
The main research goal is to further our understanding of how (if at all) CBOW in conflict and post-conflict situations are integrated into society; how (if at all) militaries, governments, and nongovernmental policy makers assist this integration process; and how the children's lived experiences reflect broader societal attitudes to memories of war and vice versa. The researchers will be trained through Advanced Training Courses and workshops, topical conferences, secondments to other consortium nodes and an ambitious and carefully planned research activities benefiting from the expertise of world-leading senior academics. We are seeking enthusiastically motivated candidates with a strong academic record holding a Master degree in a relevant subject, fluency in English and other linguistic skills and subject knowledge as required by the individual research projects.
At UoB we are particularly interested in historical and anthropological aspects of this topic.
The three projects are:
Role 1:
World War II: the Asian Theatre of War: CBOW during China’s World War Two (1931-1945) and Civil War (1945-1949).
Role 2:
African Wars of the 20th century: This project concerns the historical contextualisation of women's war-time sexual/conjugal enslavement and the experience of CBOW in Africa
Role 3:
Education and ‘rehabilitation’ of CBOW in East African post-conflict reconstruction: This project concerns the historical contextualisation of development interventions and humanitarian practices aimed at supporting children whose childhood has been affected profoundly by war.

Further details:
http://ec.europa.eu