Research Associate

We are looking to appoint a 6-month full-time Research Associate (History) at the School of Humanities in Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

The incumbent will be part of one of a collaborative team of three research associates based in NTU's History Department working on the history of environmental crises and epidemics in colonial Hong Kong led by Assistant Professor Florence Mok. This timely and innovative study will shed light on the current global crises of climate change and pandemics by tracing past practices used to alleviate emergencies in a densely populated and newly-urbanised environment which had an under-developed welfare system, supported by a narrow tax base: these are conditions that are found in many parts of the world today. Historicising natural disasters will enrich the academic discourse on environmental changes and urbanisation.

The Associate position is a fixed term post for 6 months, with a possibility of further extension.

About the Project
This study will make an original contribution to the political, social and environmental history of modern Asia, British colonialism and the Cold War by exploring how the colonial government and the Chinese society in Hong Kong mitigated environmental crises from 1945 to 1980, a period with growing policy initiatives, increased economic affluence and rising political and social consciousness. It will focus on the state and popular responses to Hong Kong's four most common natural crises under the subtropical climate: typhoon, water shortages, flooding and seasonal epidemics. The proposed study will use a traditional historical approach of examining published sources and archival manuscripts in Hong Kong and London. The main objective is to investigate investment in new technologies and infrastructures, the alternation of landscapes, socio-political mobilisations such as mutual-aid committees and state propaganda. It also explores how knowledge of crisis management was transferred between Hong Kong and former British colonies. Hong Kong was a Cold War pivot in Asia. Many measures taken by the state therefore were influenced by geopolitics and Cold War dynamics, in particular Britain's relations with China and the United States. 

Key Responsibilities:

The primary responsibilities of the successful candidate will be to:

• Examine the data collected from the Hong Kong Public Records Offices and the National Archives at Kew.

• Carry out literature survey on Hong Kong history and different theories, in particular work related to concept of resilience, state-society relations and human reactions towards crises and natural disasters.

• Coordinate with the History Research Fellow and PI, apply theoretical frameworks to the historical/archival findings.

• Work with PI and turn the findings into journal articles for submission.

• Organise seminars and conferences on the research topic.

Job Requirements:

• Hold a Masters in History, specializing post-war Hong Kong and the British empire.

• Knowledge in historical and quantitative methods and ability to analyse archival data and statistics.

• Ability to read and interpret Chinese sources, fluency in Cantonese would be advantageous as archival data collected from the Hong Kong Public Records Offices, and Chinese newspapers and mass media that we sampled would contain materials in Chinese /Cantonese.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to build productive relationships within the research team and beyond NTU.

• Highly self-motivated, capable of working independently as well as part of a team.

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Application procedure
Please apply by submitting the following documents in Workday:

1) Curriculum Vitae

2) Cover letter of no more than 2 pages which addresses your suitability for the fellowship