Mar 19, 2024: Social Scientist with a Focus on GIS, Cartography, and Mixed Methods (Pre-/Post-Doctoral)

Logo of the University of Vienna

The InfraNorth project, funded by the European Research Council, is seeking a social scientist with expertise in GIS, cartography, and mixed methods for a pre-doctoral or post-doctoral position (20 hours per week, starting as soon as possible, limited until March 31, 2025), based in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna.

The project explores how residents of the Arctic engage with transport infrastructures and their intended and unintended local consequences. The focus of our research is the role of transport infrastructures in sustaining northern communities. Our approach combines ethnographic fieldwork with mapping, future scenario workshops, and archival research. Quantitative population data and a survey about the role of transport infrastructures are used to upscale our research from local communities to regional and pan-Arctic levels. In doing so, InfraNorth contributes locally informed results to critical conversations about Arctic futures.

The ideal candidate for this position should have a Master’s degree or PhD in geography, spatial planning, or related discipline. The candidate must have a particular interest and experience in GIS and digital cartography skills, as well as in statistical analysis and quantitative research (including the conception, execution, and analysis of questionnaires). Additionally, the candidate should have experience working in multidisciplinary teams and an excellent command of written and spoken English (C1). Having web design skills (CMS) and a good command of written and spoken German (B1) would be an advantage.

The extended deadline for applications is March 19, 2024. The application form and further details can be found here.

Sep 2026: Chapter by Peter Schweitzer in “Anthropology in Motion” (Andre Gingrich, Ed.) Now Open Access

The book chapter “Remote connections: Human entanglements with built and natural environments in the Arctic and elsewhere,” written by InfraNorth principal investigator Peter Schweitzer and published as part of Anthropology in Motion, edited by Andre Gingrich and published by Sean Kingston Publishing in 2021, is now available open access. In the chapter, Schweitzer revisits the […]

Vienna Anthropology Days - VANDA 2027 Call for Papers

Call for Papers on “High Altitudes, High Latitudes: Engaging with Cryospheric Livelihoods” for VANDA Conference 2027

We invite paper proposals for our panel “High Altitudes, High Latitudes: Engaging with Cryospheric Livelihoods” at the Vienna Anthropology Days (VANDA) 2027, hosted by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, 16-19 February 2027. The cryosphere, defined by frozen water in all its forms, has attracted considerable attention of late […]

Vienna Anthropology Days - VANDA 2027 Call for Papers

Call for Papers on “Infrastructuring Green Transitions” for VANDA Conference 2027

We invite paper proposals for our panel “Infrastructuring Green Transitions” at the Vienna Anthropology Days (VANDA) 2027, hosted by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, 16-19 February 2027. The green transition marks a shift away from fossil fuel-based, high-carbon economic activity toward more sustainable systems of production, consumption, and […]

Vienna Anthropology Days - VANDA 2027 Call for Papers

Call for Papers on “Whose Arctic Futures? Unsettling Northern Transport Infrastructures” for VANDA Conference 2027

We invite paper proposals for our panel “Whose Arctic Futures? Unsettling Northern Transport Infrastructures” at the Vienna Anthropology Days (VANDA) 2027, hosted by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, 16-19 February 2027. The Arctic, which during the post-Cold War period at the turn of the last century seemed to […]

Vienna Anthropology Days - VANDA 2027 Call for Papers

Call for Papers on “Infrastructures: Questions, Debates, and Directions” for VANDA 2027

We invite paper proposals for our panel “Infrastructures: Questions, Debates, and Directions” at the Vienna Anthropology Days (VANDA) 2027, hosted by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, 16-19 February 2027. The panel explores infrastructure as both an object of anthropological inquiry and an analytical lens. It welcomes empirical, conceptual, […]

Cover of the Polar Geography journal.

Aug 2026: Introduction to InfraNorth Special Issue in Polar Geography

The quarterly peer-reviewed journal Polar Geography has published the introduction to the forthcoming special issue “Transport infrastructure and population in the Arctic.” The introduction has been written by InfraNorth senior researcher Timothy Heleniak and principal investigator Peter Schweitzer. Published online in August 2026, the introduction presents the special issue emerging from the InfraNorth project. At […]