The Anthropocene Laboratory is a new program at the Academy, starting in 2023. The aim is to develop scientific understanding and synthesis of the Anthropocene biosphere, by working across the sciences and the humanities, engage with actors outside of academia to stimulate change, and help foster a new generation of transdisciplinary sustainability scientists. Located in Stockholm, Sweden, the laboratory consists of researchers and facilitators, with a director reporting to the Secretary General of the Academy, guided by a Scientific Committee. The Anthropocene Laboratory is one among several sustainability science efforts in Stockholm that interact and collaborate.
The laboratory is a collaborative team with an ability to work across scientific disciplines and between science and practice. The main function is to bring together international scholars that combine disciplinary perspectives and diverse skills, tools, and competencies for a more holistic understanding of the Anthropocene biosphere, our home on planet Earth, thereby exploring challenges and opportunities of advancing science for sustainability in an era of increased interconnectivity, social-ecological turbulence, and inequalities.
We are looking for colleagues with an international and interdisciplinary interest, with documented experience in understanding and relating to the Anthropocene biosphere, and with a willingness to explore emergence in new scientific constellations. The laboratory strives to experiment, with the hope to discover new systemic interactions.
We are committed to diversity, equity, and representation – not because it looks good on paper but because it is essential for an ability to comprehend and engage with the Anthropocene. We encourage qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply for the position.
The working language is English, but all additional languages are regarded as assets.
Employments are based at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. Employees with citizenship outside the EU require a residence permit decision from the Swedish Migration Agency prior to the start of employment.
3 Postdoc positions – two years (full time)
You will work closely with the Director, the Chair of the Scientific Committee, advisors and other colleagues. Your main tasks will be to lead academic papers, based on ideas developed collaboratively in international workshops that you help organize. You will be offered an opportunity to co-design a range of scientific activities supported by international, leading expertise from the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. You have likely recently finished your academic degree in a sustainability-related scientific field and are now interested in exploring the complexities of the Anthropocene biosphere. This postdoc will accelerate your scientific career and will help you build capacities, knowledge, and networks for a future with a leading academic institution, or elsewhere. We are specifically looking for postdocs with an interest in one of three major topics:
1. Anthropocene Therapy
A thriving Anthropocene requires improved capacities to deal with existential threats and collective fears. Human societies have experienced and dealt with a wide range of shocks and turbulence in the past, including forced relocation, genocide, nuclear bombings, terrorist attacks, the holocaust, or hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. Much can be learnt from such experiences of collective trauma, which will continue to be experienced.
Shared beliefs and rituals have been found to strengthen social identity and resilience. Is there a need for preventive Anthropocene trauma treatment? Does the world need Anthropocene Therapy, or other forms of individual and collective healing? What are mechanisms to create shared meaning through interconnected networks and how can human relations with the biosphere support healthy, thriving societies? You likely have experience in social psychology but may also have a completely different background.
2. Anthropocene Diplomacy
Sustainability relies on the human capacities to build and sustain coalitions. What can be learnt from past and ongoing diplomatic efforts to advance international cooperation? Which processes and actors are hindering or facilitating progress? What are effective coalition building strategies for overcoming obstacles?
This postdoc will engage with international and local project partners, including in Geneva and Stockholm. You likely have experience with, e.g., interview, actor mapping, statistical analysis, and interdisciplinary synthesis projects. Qualifying topical experience includes international relations, diplomacy, and sustainability.
3. Whatever happens
This is an open call for a postdoc wanting to collaboratively engage with the Anthropocene Biosphere across disciplines and connecting science and art. Please have a look at our vision and mission, and our present activities, and propose your idea for building on and expanding on these activities.
Your qualifications
You have a PhD and you are highly motivated. In your application, please specify which topic is interesting and what you can bring to it. Provide a description of why you consider yourself suitable for this position. We are interested to learn more about how you work in teams and your independence. We would like for you to work towards set goals and not be afraid to innovate. You communicate clearly and effectively. You have a demonstrated ability to work across academic disciplines and to facilitate dialogues and learning across knowledge systems. You enjoy data analysis, reading scientific papers and you write well. You know what it takes to publish in leading scientific journals. Postdocs will be evaluated in relation to documented ability to lead scientific processes, effectively work in teams and willingness to cross scientific boundaries. Risk taking will be more essential than achieving traditional academic results, but the ability to advance scientific findings and insights into publications is key. Please let us know if you have specific connections to a discipline, method, place, region, institution, language, plant, animal, or system.
Application
We look forward to your application! Please submit your personal letter, a CV, a two-page research proposal, and max two letters of recommendation to henrik.osterblom@kva.se. Make sure to clearly specify which position you are applying for, and how you intend to engage with it.
Deadline for application: May 31, 2025
Intended starting date: September 1, 2025 (flexible)
Contact
Please contact Prof. Henrik Österblom, henrik.osterblom@kva.se (Director at the Anthropocene Laboratory) or Prof. Carl Folke, carl.folke@beijer.kva.se (Chair of the Scientific Committee) for further questions.
