PhD Position in Philosophy of Language / Experimental Semantics (EXPIRED)

About the position

We have a vacancy for a PhD Candidate at The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, NTNU, within the area of philosophy of language (experimental semantics).

The last 15-20 years have seen a proliferation of experimental work on semantic reference – an area of philosophy of language that has traditionally been dominated by thought experimentation and other ‘armchair’ methods. With few exceptions, this work has employed survey methods, probing test subjects’ judgments concerning the reference of terms or the truth values of sentences including the expressions under study. A number of such studies have been carried out, on proper names and natural kind terms, but so far the results remain unclear and inconclusive. At the same time, more refined experimental methods, such as elicited production, self-paced reading, and ERP measurement, have been used with considerable success in psycholinguistics, to study the processing of referential expressions such as pronouns and names.

Very few attempts have been made to apply such methods to the central problems concerning theories of reference in philosophy of language.

The PhD candidate will seek to employ advanced experimental methods on theories of reference and perform interdisciplinary research in experimental semantics, supervised jointly by the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Department of Language and Literature. The experiments will be carried out at the Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, NTNU.

You will report to Professor Jussi Haukioja and Professor Giosuè Baggio.

Duties of the position

• perform and publish excellent research in experimental semantics
• complete the required coursework and submit a doctoral dissertation

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirements are

• A completed a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in philosophy, or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you are unable to meet these criteria you may be considered only if you can document that you are particularly suitable for education leading to a PhD degree.
• Good familiarity with theories of reference
• Interest in interdisciplinary work and experimental methods. Previous experience with experimental work is not required, as training in the relevant experimental techniques will be provided as part of the supervision.
• Excellent written and oral English skills

Personal characteristics

• Highly motivated
• Ability to work both individually and collaboratively
• Good communication skills

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 482 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Historical and Cultural Studies within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to the condition that the candidate start the PhD study by the end of 2021.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English or one of the Scandinavian languages.

Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.

The application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• A document (maximum 3 pages) that describes:
  • The candidate’s academic background and interests, with emphasis on factors relevant for the position
  • The candidate’s views concerning the application of experimental methods in philosophy of language, and theory of reference in particular
• Name and contact information of three referees

If relevant, you may include academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment. Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

For further information, see https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/205714/phd-candidate-within-the-area-of-philosophy-of-language-experimental-semantics