Two doctoral students, 65% working time

The University of Bonn is an international research university with a broad range of academic offerings. With a 200-year history, a student body of approximately 31,500, a faculty of over 6,000, and an excellent reputation at home and abroad, the University of Bonn is one of the most prominent universities in Germany and has been recognized as a University of Excellence. The DFG Emmy Noether Junior Research Group “Archival Sovereignty: Indigenous Digital Media, Language Revival and Land Defense in the Andes”, led by Dr. Maradiegue (Department of Anthropology of the Americas), is inviting applications for

Two doctoral students, 65% working time

for the period of October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2029, initially limited to 3 years according to § 2 (1) WissZeitVG with the possibility of a one year extension.

The project analyzes the formation of digital archives by Indigenous groups and actors in their own epistemological ways and in connection with their ancestral lands and environments, understanding that such formation is related to agendas of language revitalization and defense of their territories. Using the original concept of "Archival sovereignty," the research group analyzes the principles, agencies, and cosmopolitics related to archival formation by Quechua Cañaris peoples, an Andean Indigenous group. This concept poses a challenge to European/Western conceptions of the archive: (i) considering an archive as a space, a practice, and a process to gather and produce knowledge; (ii) considering Indigenous archives as founded on temporalities divergent from the temporality of the archives of modernity; and (iii) inspecting how Indigenous Andean societies understand and interact with the agential capacities of contemporary digital infrastructures. Archival sovereignty emphasizes the relational reproduction of Quechua knowledges and the role of other-than-human beings in knowledge and archival production, and allows to focus on projects of digital archives preservation from the perspective of Indigenous epistemologies, having as a main case an understudied Andean community. At the same time, this project aims to understand how Quechua Cañaris activists navigate other non-Indigenous archival regimes and participate in the restitution of historical audiovisual materials preserved at university archives. More information about the project and the department can be found here.

Your tasks:

• Writing a PhD thesis,
• Conducting theoretically and ethnographically-grounded research, engaging with critical perspectives in the field of Andean studies, Indigenous studies, and the Anthropology of archives and media,
• Conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Peru on the topic of Indigenous communities, archives and epistemologies. The project includes two fieldwork stays of approx. 4 months each. Work methodologies also include elicitation of audiovisual materials, digital ethnography, and the collaborative production of a public exhibition and a multimedia website,
• Collaborating on developing a shared research framework for the research group, although personal interests can also be pursued by each PhD candidate,
• Presenting at academic conferences and other relevant fora.

Your profile:

• MSc/MA in anthropology, Indigenous studies, area studies, sociology or related subjects,
• Experience in doing ethnographic research and have strong research skills,
• Interest for sited and empirical research in sensitive contexts,
• Excellent command of oral and written skills in Spanish and English,
• Basic knowledge of the Quechua language,
• Resilient mindset in dealing with imminent fieldwork challenges,
• Reliable, structured, organized and a team player,
• Prior relevant research and work experience will be a plus.

What we offer:

• Opportunity to collaborate with international partners with diverse expertise,
• Funding for fieldwork and travel to conferences,
• Additional support for applicants with childcare responsibilities,
• Company pension scheme (VBL),
• Remuneration according to pay group 13 TV-L.

The University of Bonn is committed to diversity and equal opportunity. It is certified as a family-friendly university. The University of Bonn seeks to increase female representation in staffing areas where women are underrepresented and provide special career support. It thus expressly encourages qualified women to apply. Applications will be handled in accordance with the NRW State Gender Equality Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz, LGG NRW). Applications from qualified candidates with a certified severe disability or from those of equal status are especially welcome.

Please send your application in English including (1) CV (max. 2 pages); (2) letter of motivation (max. 2 pages), highlighting your interest in this position; (3) research proposal (max. 6 pages incl. references), covering literature review outlining the most important and cutting-edge debates on the topic, research questions for the PhD project, theoretical framework, research methods, and anticipated academic contribution(s) given the current state of the literature; (4) one academic reference letter; (5) certificates (incl. Master/Diploma thesis). Applications should be sent as one single pdf file with the ID 2026/106 by email to wmara@uni-bonn.de by May 30, 2026. Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Walther Maradiegue wmara@uni-bonn.de.

We are looking forward to your application! With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of the data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/data-protection-policy?set_language=e