[SIGCIS-Members] Joint PhD on History and Philosophy of Computing (Lille and Kent)

[info at tomasp.net]

Dear all,
we are inviting applications for a 3-year funded joint PhD position in
History and/or Philosophy of Computing in Université de Lille (France) and
University of Kent (UK). We have some possible suggested topics (see below),
but the theme is not fixed, so if you (or anyone you know) is interested in
doing a PhD in History and/or Philosophy of Computing in Europe, please
apply or let your colleagues know!
 
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Joint PhD Scholarship on History and Philosophy of Computing (Université de
Lille and University of Kent)

We rely on computers to manage our communication, access to information,
finances and even health. Despite recurring reports of software failures,
programming mistakes and unintended consequences, most of our understanding
of how computers work is of a highly technical nature. Consider, for
example, the rich conceptual arsenal that programmers have developed to help
them control what computers do. Where do these programming concepts, methods
and practices come from? What are their inherent limitations? And can they
provide a reliable way of controlling computers, as the word "science" in
"computer science" suggests?

We are inviting applications for a 3-year funded PhD position in History
and/or Philosophy of Computing, jointly supervised by Liesbeth De Mol (CNRS
- (UMR 8163, Université de Lille), Tomas Petricek (University of Kent) and
Shahid Rahman (UMR 8163, Université de Lille).The position will be shared
between Université de Lille and University of Kent in Canterbury in the
framework of the call for proposals of co-supervised doctorates between
I-site ULNE and the University of Kent. You will be expected to spend two
years in Lille and one year in Canterbury. The scope of the project is
open-ended and we encourage interested applicants to informally contact us
as soon as possible in order to develop a more detailed research proposal.

For sample possible research topics and information about how to apply,
please see: http://hapoc.org/node/303
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Thanks,
Tomas Petricek