The Graduate School at Arts, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, in collaboration with the European Research Council (ERC), invites applications for a fully funded PhD fellowship in Childhood and the Web 1995-2005 provided the necessary funding is available. This PhD fellowship is available as of 1 September 2025 for a period of up to three years (5+3). The candidate who is awarded the fellowship must commence his/her PhD degree programme on 1 September 2025.
The PhD fellowship will involve participating in and contributing to the collective ERC project ‘Changing Childhoods in the Early Era of the WWW (WEB CHILD).’
WEB CHILD combines the history of childhood and the Web to investigate how the emergence of the Web as a new interactive and connected medium impacted childhood at the turn of the millennium (c. 1995-2005). To study the Web’s wide-ranging influence, three countries have been selected for comparison: the United States, Denmark, and South Korea. These were all digital pioneers but had very different childhood cultures.
The project’s main question “How did the global phenomenon of the Web influence childhood in South Korea, Denmark and the United States, c. 1995-2005?” is operationalized via four work packages:
‘Cultural Ideas’ investigates the formation of cultural ideas about childhood in relation to the Web. ‘Web Usage’ explores children’s usage of the Web. ‘Online Spaces’ analyses online spaces made for children. The fourth work package compares the results of the three previous across the three countries to explore similarities and differences and the reasons behind these. In merging the three analytical approaches of WP1-3, the project offers the first comparative, globally framed history of how the Web as a cultural, social, and digital phenomenon became a part of childhood.
WEB CHILD’s analysis combines many sources ranging from re-born digital sources to news items, interviews, surveys, contemporary research, internet guidebooks. Combining computational analyses of re-born digital sources with methods and sources more traditionally used in history, WEB CHILD will pioneer approaches that integrate re-born digital material in historical analysis, paving the way for other historians who wish to use material from web archives.
The PhD fellowship is expected to contribute to the gathering of the Danish sources, but otherwise free to carve out an individual project proposal within the overall framework. Candidates who are able to document experience with web history will be preferred.
Enrolment and place of work
The PhD student must complete the studies in accordance with the valid regulations for the PhD degree programme, currently the Ministerial Order of 27 August 2013 on the PhD degree programme at the universities: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/
Description of the graduate school’s PhD degree programme: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/phdstudystructure/
Rules and regulations for the PhD degree programme at the Graduate School at Arts: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/
The PhD fellow will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Graduate School at Arts, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, with the aim of completing a PhD degree at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University.
The PhD student will be affiliated with the PhD programme History, Archaeology and Classical Studies.
The PhD student’s place of work will be the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University. In general, the student is expected to be present at the school on an everyday basis.
The PhD degree programme is expected to include a lengthy research stay at a foreign institution, cf. Description of the graduate school’s PhD degree programme.
School of Culture and Society’s research programme: http://cas.au.dk/en/research/research-programmes/
5+3 programme
When you apply for a 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3), you must have completed your two year Master’s degree (120 ECTS) no later than 31 August 2025.
The PhD fellow will be employed as a PhD student at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University. The terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (see section 6.1.4), as well as with the protocol to the agreement covering staff with university degrees in the state sector (see enclosure 5). The agreement and the protocol including amendments are available online: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/
Salary: https://phd.arts.au.dk/4-4-part-b-and-5-3/salary-and-employment
How to apply
The application must include:
Please see a detailed description of the requirements for the application in the guide for the application facility: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/how-to-apply/
Application
If you require professional guidance regarding your application for the PhD fellowship please contact the PhD programme director at History, Archaeology and Classical Studies: http://phd.arts.au.dk/about-us/contact/
For further information, please contact Associate Professor Helle Strandgaard Jensen, School of Culture and Society, hs.jensen@cas.au.dk.
The application must be submitted in English.
All applicants must provide documentation of excellent communication skills in English which are considered essential, and you must therefore be able to read, write, and speak academic English fluently. English language requirement is comparable to a minimum of TOEFL 83 or IELTS 6.5. Please see this page for further information: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/english-test/
Child protection certificate
In accordance with Ministerial Order no. 554 of 23 May 2023, Aarhus University is obliged to obtain a statement of no previous convictions in respect of children in connection with the appointment and employment of staff whose work will involve direct contact with children under the age of 15. If you, in connection with your PhD project, will be in direct contact with children under the age of 15 who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian, childcare professional or teacher, you will be covered by the requirements of the ministerial order.
If you are covered by these requirements and read Danish, please complete the section “Samtykkeerklæring” (declaration of consent) in the police form and upload the file under “Other information to consider” in the application form. You can download the form here: https://politi.dk/-/media/mediefiler/landsdaekkende-dokumenter/straffeattest/brneattest-p274.pdf
If you are covered by these requirements and do not read Danish, please upload a brief statement with the headline “Child protection certificate needed” under the field “Other information to consider” in the application form.
Applications for the PhD fellowship and enrolment in the PhD degree programme can only be submitted via the application form in Aarhus University’s web-based facility.
Deadline for applications: 15 March 2025 at 23.59 Danish time (CET/CEST).
Reference number: 2025-10
During the assessments, Aarhus University can conduct interviews with selected applicants.
