INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies
Job Posting no AP 21-03
Open to internal and external candidates | Three (3) tenure-track positions
Position posting end by April 30, 2021
Summary
As part of the creation of a Joint Research Unit (Unité Mixte de recherche) (UMR) at the Val-d’Or campus of the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) is seeking applications to fill three (3) positions of professors specialized in social science in the field of Indigenous studies.
INRS is a research university offering graduate studies programs. The top-ranking Canadian university in terms of research intensity (grants per professor), INRS has 150 professors and almost 800 students and postdoctoral fellows. Active in research essential to the advancement of knowledge in Quebec and on the international scene, the research teams at INRS play a key role in the development of concrete solutions to our society’s problems.
The UMR INRS-UQAT aims to consolidate a national and international leadership in Indigenous studies. Located at the Val-d’Or campus of the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the UMR has the mandate of carrying out multidisciplinary research and delivering graduate training.
INRS is committed to an equal employment opportunity program. Indigenous persons are particularly invited to apply, and to identify themselves as such in their application so that the selection committee may take that information into consideration.
INRS also asks selection committees to take into account career interruptions and special circumstances which might have impeded achievements in research. Thus, selection committees are better able to fairly evaluate the candidates’ productivity. Candidates are therefore invited to explain interruptions or special circumstances in their cover letter.
While INRS encourages all qualified candidates to apply, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.
Principal tasks and responsibilities
- Within the framework of the UMR INRS-UQAT multidisciplinary program, develop innovative research activities in themes related to social sciences, such as:
- Life stages
- Political action and citizenship
- Public and community action
- Management, governance and self-determination
- Arts and cultural practices Education and transmission
- Gender studies
- Justice
- Health and well-being Revitalization of Indigenous languages
- Territories, territorialities and cultural landscapes
- Contemporary urbanities
This list of themes is not exhaustive.
Ensure the funding of one’s research activities through external grants from public and private organizations, or in collaboration with Indigenous partners;
• Participate in training activities, particularly within the joint INRS-UQAT master’s and doctoral programs currently under development, and supervise graduate students and research personnel;
• Contribute to the standing of INRS and UQAT at the national and international levels.
Specific requirements and abilities
- Ph.D. or being on the verge of finishing a doctoral dissertation in social sciences or humanities or any other discipline relevant to Indigenous studies;
- Research productivity demonstrating autonomy and originality, taking into account the level of career advancement ;
- Teaching skills in Indigenous studies, as well as supervision of graduate students and research personnel;
- Excellent capacity or potential to develop large-scale research projects with Indigenous people in Quebec and elsewhere;
- Research experience in Indigenous contexts;
- Aptitudes for research, participatory research and knowledge mobilization;
- Experience with knowledge co-construction with Indigenous communities and organizations, respecting the provisions of Chapter 9 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement (regarding the ethics of research) and the guiding principles for Indigenous research (SSHRC), taking into account career advancement level;
- Ability to work within a team and as part of a network (national and international), as well as from a multidisciplinary and intercultural perspective in collaboration with representatives from diverse organizations and, specifically, Indigenous organizations; and
- Independence and creativity in research; capacity to self-finance a research program, depending on career advancement level.
Language at work
The working language is French. Knowledge of English, as well as a third language, would be an asset.
Candidates whose first language is not French are strongly encouraged to apply. The necessary resources will be made available to facilitate learning French.
Place of employment
Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
675, 1re Avenue
Val-d’Or, Quebec J9P 1Y3
CANADA
Salary
According to the current INRS collective agreement.
How to apply?
Interested parties are asked to send their complete curriculum vitæ and, depending on career advancement level: copies of their three most significant publications; a two- to three-page summary of their research interests; a short text on their teaching philosophy; and a letter of support from an Indigenous community or organization, as well as the name and coordinates of three references, no later than April, 30th 2021, indicating the number of the AP-21-03 to :
Direction
Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre
385, Sherbrooke E.
Montreal, Quebec H2X 1E3
Or by email to concours@ucs.inrs.ca
- INRS is committed to an equal opportunity program and invites women, visible minorities, ethnic minorities and disabled individuals to apply. Candidates are encouraged to identify as such in their application so that the selection committee may take this information into consideration. Screening practices can be adapted to the needs of disabled individuals throughout all the stages of the recruitment process. If you expect needing adaptation measures, or if you have any questions concerning equity, diversity and inclusion at INRS, please contact, in complete confidentiality, Laurence Matte Guilmain, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Counsellor, at laurence.matte_guilmain@inrs.ca or by telephone at 418-654-2582
- As defined by the SSHRC.
Orientations
Definition of the UMR [Mixed Research Unit]
The Unité mixte de recherche INRS-UQAT en études autochtones [INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies] is situated at the crossroads of scientific and Indigenous knowledge. Its innovative action intends to transform the ways of interacting and the relational dynamics between the academic and Indigenous worlds in order to highlight the contribution of Indigenous peoples to the future of societies and to humanity’s cultural heritage.
In the wake of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and in response to calls to action by the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and the Quebec Commission d’enquête sur les relations entre les Autochtones et certains services publics : écoute, réconciliation, progrès (CERP) [Commission of Inquiry into Relations between Indigenous People and Certain Public Services: Listening, Reconciliation and Progress], as well as those of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), the UMR INRS-UQAT fully recognizes that Indigenous people have rights, including that of self-determination, and is firmly engaged on the path to social justice and recognition.
In creating this space for intellectual, interinstitutional and multi-disciplinary reconciliation within which Indigenous voices and knowledge can be expressed and heard, the INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies relies on the Indigenous contribution to training, research and science, with an emphasis on ethical and socially relevant interactive research practices, with Indigenous peoples and organizations working in various regions of Quebec. Through supporting their initiatives of decolonization, social reconstruction, as well as cultural, identity and political affirmation, the UMR INRS-UQAT builds bridges between advanced training and scientific production, and social challenges, environmental risks and territorial issues, with regard to Indigenous realities and concerns.
The INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies brings together university researchers, intellectuals, Indigenous practitioners, as well as students at all levels, who are all pursuing a process of updating and renewing research practices, collective learning, participatory methodologies, decolonial theories and Indigenous and scientific knowledge. Committed to the democratization of knowledge and science, the UMR is characterized by its broad vision of the driving force of reciprocity and sharing in the advancement of knowledge, its mode of functioning based on opening up to multiple forms of knowledge, its mobilizing and inclusive mission, and the quality of its collaborations in teaching about social and community innovation.
Mission statement
To transform science through the contribution of Indigenous knowledge systems, and to create social ecosystems of collaborative learning suitable for training graduate Indigenous students in various fields of social sciences and humanities.
Values
The mission of the INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies respects the principles of Indigenous research proposed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and operates in conformity with the Tri-Council Policy Statement on the ethical conduct for research involving humans, Chapter 9: Research involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. The Indigenous research protocols will also be considered. The following values guide the achievements of the UMR.
Respect Respect is based on the full recognition of each person’s knowledge and expertise, whether scientific, indigenous, spiritual or experiential knowledge.
Equity Equity is revealed in the importance of taking into account and valuing each person’s contribution to the collective production of research documents, textbooks, conferences or scientific articles.
Sharing Sharing highlights the importance of combining experiences and expertise, and multiplying the opportunities to meet, exchange and learn, by creating conditions for everyone to speak up.
Reciprocity Reciprocity entails belonging to a collective project, with collective benefits and outcomes, assuming various written, oral or artistic forms, and with effects both in the university and Indigenous environments.
Trust Trust stems from the sense of belonging to the INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies with the will to maintain the quality of relations and of links established through the activities and initiatives put into play.
Knowledge co-construction
Knowledge co-construction is based on continuous dialogue between researchers and institutional actors. It aims at deepening knowledge to build a more democratic, equitable and just society. Knowledge co-construction is essentially a collective process which recognizes the value and relevance of everyone’s contributions to an enhanced understanding of the phenomena which surround us.
Collaborative pedagogical practices
The INRS-UQAT Joint Research Unit in Indigenous Studies promotes an interactive pedagogy and collaborative and reflexive teaching practices. Collaborations may be ad hoc in the case of compulsory courses; however, they constitute the basic formula for specialized workshops.