Research Assistant

The third party funded position is offered until 31 August 2028, if no former times of qualification must be considered. The starting date is 1 September 2026. The position is part-time (65 % of regular working hours) with salary and benefits commensurate with a public service position in the state Hesse, Germany (TV-H E 13, 65 %).

At the center of the Emmy Noether Research Group "Web Sleuthing. Media Practices of Crime-Related Online Investigations" (DFG 2025-2031, led by Dr. Anne Ganzert) is the phenomenon of web sleuthing – that is, the practices of digitally networked amateurs who independently conduct crime-related investigations using platforms, databases, social media, and collaborative tools. The project investigates how these forms of participatory investigative work are mediated and organized. It asks:
Which infrastructures, platform logics, and affective economies structure web sleuthing practices? What forms of knowledge emerge at the intersection of investigative research, speculative narration, and collective data work? How do the boundaries between professional law enforcement, journalism, and lay investigation shift? And how do these practices become effective in legal, political, and public contexts? The project brings together media and cultural theory with approaches from fan studies, platform studies, sociology of knowledge, and digital methods.

The advertised position is assigned to the subproject “Sleuthing Stories.” This subproject examines the narrative construction of web sleuthing across fictional and factual media formats. The focus is on how the motiv of digital sleuthing circulates, transforms, and stabilizes culturally.

The project examines how web sleuthing emerges and circulates as a cultural trope; what character models, narrative structures, and epistemic fantasies arise in the process; how digital investigative practices are aesthetically staged and normatively framed; and how fictional, documentary, and participatory media formats influence each other. The subproject thus analyzes web sleuthing as a cultural imagination that negotiates notions of truth, justice, technology, and collective intelligence.

Tasks:

• Scientific services in research
• Conduct theory-driven close readings and comparative analyses of television series, streaming formats, video games, films, podcasts, and popular literature
• Analyze narrative, aesthetic, and medial strategies through which digital investigative practices are staged
• Investigate processes of circulation, translation, and transaction between fictional representations, documentary formats, and real-world web sleuthing practices
• Apply and further develop interdisciplinary methods, including film and television analysis, game studies, fan studies, discourse analysis, and walkthrough/playthrough methods
• Contribute to the conceptual development of the overall project and collaborate closely with the principal investigator and other team members
• Editorial work for Fandom | Culture | Research
• Present research findings at national and international conferences and publish results in academic venues

Within the framework of the third-party funded project, the position offers the opportunity to carry out project-related scientific work. By means of a supervision agreement, it can be ensured that the results obtained may be used for the individual’s own academic qualification outside of working hours. This is a fixed-term project position. The contract is not concluded under Section 2(1) of the German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (WissZeitVG).

Profile:

• Above-average completed university degree (MA-degree or equivalent) in media studies, cultural studies, literary studies, or a related field
• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of the following areas: film and television studies, game studies, narratology, fan studies, platform studies, or digital culture
• Strong motivation for interdisciplinary collaboration and active contribution to a dynamic research team
• Excellent English language skills (written and spoken); German language skills are an advantage

We offer:

• An engaging and diverse range of responsibilities within an exceptional research environment
• The opportunity to pursue independent research and further academic qualification outside of working hours
• Benefits of the Emmy Noether Research Group are
  • close supervision and opportunities for independent research and academic work
  • a structured research environment
  • international networking opportunities
• The Philipps-Universität Marburg is an attractive university with family services, university sports, training and professional development programs, and a ticket for free use of public transport in the state Hesse, Germany

We support women and strongly encourage them to apply. In areas where women are underrepresented, female applicants will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. As a certified family-friendly university, we support our employees in balancing family and career. A reduction of working time is possible. Applicants with a disability as discribed in the Social Security Code (Section 2(2) and (3) of Book IX of the Social Security Code (SGB IX)) will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. Application and interview costs can not be refunded.

Please submit your application, including a developed dissertation proposal or well-founded project outline with clear theoretical and methodological grounding by 17 May 2026 exclusively via the application button below.