Full-time PhD Researcher (100%)
Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Bern
Start date: January 2026
Application deadline: November 14, 2025
The Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies at the University of Bern invites applications for a PhD candidate for the four-year research project “Cultures of Speculation,” starting from January 2026.
Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and led by Professor Stefan Leins, the project investigates how economic activities are increasingly oriented toward uncertain futures and how this shift has given rise to new cultures of speculation. It focuses on three key domains that have gained importance in the wake of the financial crisis: new popular investing, flexible work, and infrastructural planning. Using ethnographic methods, the project explores the lifeworlds, strategies, narratives, and moral perceptions of individuals and groups engaged in these fields.
Required qualifications
• MA degree in Social Anthropology or neighbouring discipline
• Experience with qualitative methods and ethnographic fieldwork
• Excellent organizational and communication abilities
• Enthusiasm for collaborative work