DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND CULTURAL STUDIES

East Asia

Institute for Chinese Studies

Student assistant (m/f/d) 41 h/month limited to 2 years

reference code: VW_SHK_Kostka_2024

Deadline: 31.07.202

The student will join the Volkswagen Foundation-funded project “Privacy-China” led by Prof. Genia Kostka (Freie University Berlin) and Prof. Rachel Murphy (University of Oxford). The position provides an opportunity for both independent and collaborative research within an ambitious project while working in a small research team in Berlin.
This research project aims to provide empirical and conceptual understanding of privacy practices in China. Through mixed-method, the project will achieve three objectives: 1. Study the multifaceted and complex legal, social, cultural and political contexts within which private information in China is disclosed, evaluated and governed. 2. Explore the mechanisms through which the societal transformation can be shaped by citizens, firms and governments in China and to understand how can we address the perils of digitalization while at the same time harnessing its enormous benefits. 3. Assess the impacts of changing privacy practices for citizens, businesses and the state and how the generated knowledge can assist European societies in navigating the societal digital transformation.
In order to address the myriad meanings of privacy, this project employs an innovative multi-method approach including mediated narrative analysis of citizens’ online stories and posts, analysis of online diaries, web scraping for data collection of online posts, and interviews. Furthermore, the project employs an online experimental survey featuring list experiments, which addresses concerns of sensitivity and self-censorship. Developing a feature-length documentary and organizing two stakeholder conferences constitute the cornerstones of the project’s intense non-academic stakeholder engagement.

Job description:
Responsibilities for the SHK (Student Research Assistant) include conducting desktop research for the Volkswagen Foundation research project, working on literature reviews, collecting data.

Desirable:
- Field open to any social-science discipline, e.g. political science, economics, Chinese studies or sociology.
- Interest in research on China
- Fluency in Chinese (HSK5) and English (C1)

For further information, please contact Lu Bai (lu.bai@fu-berlin.de / +49 30 838 51280).

Applications quoting the reference code should include a brief cover letter summarizing the applicant’s qualifications for the position, a current CV, certificate of enrollment and Transcript of Records, in PDF format (preferably as one document) to Prof. Dr. Genia Kostka: lu.bai@fu-berlin.de or postal to

Freie Universität Berlin

Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften

Ostasien und Vorderer Orient

Institute for Chinese Studies

Prof. Dr. Genia Kostka

Fabeckstr. 23-25

14195 Berlin (Dahlem)

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