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[Filed position] Post-doctoral Recruitment for the MEDIALEX Project

The Sciences Po médialab is recruiting a post-doc in the social sciences on the dynamics of influence in the digital public space, as part of the ANR-funded MEDIALEX project.

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The candidate will work as part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers (sociologists, political scientists, computer scientists), engineers and designers at the médialab, and will collaborate with members of the MEDIALEX Project consortium (INA, CREST, ENS).

About the project

To what extent has the digitization of the public arena overturned the ability of elected representatives, traditional media and the public to impose priority topics for public debate?

To answer this question, the MEDIALEX project is developing original digital methods, combining social science skills, both quantitative and qualitative, with skills in modeling and automatic language processing. The aim is to process large corpora of data and digital traces, so as to identify the dynamics of influence between the worlds of parliament, the media and the public sphere. In particular, the project involves the development of computerized methods for identifying, on a large scale, all the events that feature in public debate (bills, news items, statements by public figures, natural disasters, etc.). These procedures provide a better understanding of how politicians, journalists, activists and citizens contribute to the politicization of events.

Missions

The person recruited will be primarily responsible for analyzing the corpora created as part of the project. These corpora concern a large number of very diverse media events, related to the environment, immigration, gender, police violence, institutions, etc. Each corpus focuses on a particular event. Each corpus focuses on a particular event, and is presented as a collection of messages posted on social networks, media content and parliamentary discussions.

The person recruited will apply qualitative analysis techniques to these corpuses: content analysis of tweets and press articles; identification of the actors and organizations involved, in particular. He/she will also contribute to the analysis of documents produced using digital techniques (network mapping, for example).

He/she will also be involved in writing articles in collaboration with project partners. He/she will also contribute to the organization of study days and a conference. 

Experiences and skills required

The person recruited will have an excellent knowledge of the social sciences (sociology, political science, communication sciences). He/she will be familiar with theories of public space, media and digital communication. A good knowledge of social science research on social networks and the digital environment is a prerequisite. These skills may have been attested by a doctorate in a discipline such as sociology, political science or communication sciences.

Excellent command of qualitative analysis methods is required, as well as basic statistical skills. Programming languages such as Python or R are not required (they would be a plus), but at the very least the candidate should be willing to collaborate regularly with computer scientists and data analysis specialists.

In addition, the person recruited should have excellent writing skills and experience of publishing.

Work environment

The successful candidate will be integrated into the SciencesPo Medialab, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris (remote work possible one day a week or more in the context of a pandemic) and will work with the team of researchers, engineers and designers.

The position is open from spring 2022, for a period of 24 months.

The proposed gross salary is around 3000 € / month and may vary slightly depending on experience. The position includes full health coverage, 40 days of paid vacation per year, 5 RTT, 50% of the financing of public transportation and meal tickets.

To apply

Please send a CV and a cover letter detailing your experience and skills relevant to the position, as well as a link to your recent scientific papers (published or in progress) to the following addresses: