Dear all, The below may be of interest. Apologies for cross-posting! Please direct all queries to Dr Regina Fabry via [email protected]
*** Applications are now open for 2 PhD scholarships on the “The Diversity and Variability of Grief” at Macquarie University, Sydney. Suitable candidates should have a background in philosophy or a cognate discipline. The scholarships are open to both domestic and international applicants. Applications close on 30 April 2026. These PhD scholarships are part of an ARC Discovery Project titled “Grief at the Margins: Conceptualising the Diversity of Loss” hosted by Macquarie University. The aim of this project, conducted by Lead CI Dr Regina Fabry (Macquarie University), CI Dr Emily Hughes (Macquarie University), CI Dr Marilyn Stendera (University of Wollongong), and PI Dr Becky Millar (Cardiff University), is to characterise the diversity and variability of grief experiences with a focus on grief in Autistic and LGBTQIA+ persons, thereby closing an important gap in current philosophy of grief. The PhD candidates will be supervised by Dr Regina Fabry (Macquarie University) and Dr Marilyn Stendera (University of Wollongong). Details about the scholarships, entry requirements, and details about the application process are available at: https://www.mq.edu.au/research/phd-and-research-degrees/how-to-apply/scholarship-opportunities/scholarship-search/the-diversity-and-variability-of-grief<https://www.mq.edu.au/research/phd-and-research-degrees/how-to-apply/scholarship-opportunities/scholarship-search/the-diversity-and-variability-of-grief> About the Scholarship The successful candidates will contribute to one of the following subprojects: 1. The normativity of grief To date, the norms that govern grief remain understudied in philosophical grief research. Who is entitled to grieve the loss of a significant person? Who is grievable? What are ‘normal’ grief experiences? How is grief supposed to unfold over time? The research conducted by the PhD candidate should analyse how normative structures, patterns, and practices prevent Autistic and LGBTQIA+ individuals from making sense of their grief experiences, which are often disintegrated and disunified. Relevant research questions include, but are not limited to: * What are prevalent normative assumptions about grief in Western and non-Western cultures? * How do normative assumptions influence the phenomenology of grief? * What is the relationship between normativity and marginalisation in the context of grief? * How do socio-culturally shaped normative assumptions about grief inform scholarly, public and personal discourses? * How does neuronormativity, which systematically undermines the lived experience and epistemic authority of Autistic persons, influence scholarly and folk conceptions of ‘good grief’? * How does cisheteronormativity, which systematically undermines the lived experience and epistemic authority of LQBTQIA+ persons, influence scholarly and folk conceptions of ‘good grief’? 1. The relationality of grief To date, philosophical grief research has focussed on cases characterised by the loss of a loved one (e.g., parent, partner, child, friend) with whom the grieving person shared a harmonious, non-conflictual relationship. However, how can cases of conflicted grief be theorised? The candidate is expected to systematically investigate conflicted grief generated by negative or ambivalent relationships in the context of marginalisation. Relevant research questions include, but are not limited to: * What is conflicted grief? * What are important phenomenological characteristics of conflicted grief? * How does conflicted grief relate to marginalisation and other forms of structural oppression? * How do Autistic persons navigate and negotiate conflicted grief? * How do LGBTQIA+ persons navigate and negotiate conflicted grief? * What are the implications of the analysis of conflicted grief for philosophical grief research? Expertise in philosophy of mind and cognition, philosophy of cognitive science and phenomenology are preferred, but candidates with other areas of expertise will be considered. Furthermore, an additional background in a relevant discipline (e.g., literary studies, cultural studies, history, psychology) is an advantage. In line with the main aim of the ARC Discovery Project, suitably qualified Autistic and LGBTQIA+ persons and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Availability and Components These scholarships are available to eligible candidates to undertake a direct entry three-year PhD program. The scholarship comprises: * a tuition fee offset/scholarship * a living allowance stipend. The value of each stipend scholarship is $39,700 per annum (full time, indexed) for three years. How to Apply To express your interest and discuss any questions you might have, please contact Dr Regina Fabry at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Please indicate in your application if you prefer to work on: the normativity of grief (Topic 1) or the relationality of grief (Topic 2). Marilyn Stendera (she/her) Lecturer - Philosophy Co-Head of Students (CAH) School of Creative Arts and Humanities | Faculty of Arts, Society and Business Rm 1069, Building 19 | University of Wollongong NSW 2522 T: +61 2 4239 4633 Zoom meeting link: https://uow-au.zoom.us/my/marilynstendera I live and work on Dharawal Country; I pay my respects to the Traditional Custodians of this land, and to Elders past, present, and emerging. Always was, always will be; sovereignty was never ceded. Latest work: "'Phenomenology is blue': The synaesthetic dynamics of Being-in-the-world" (<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10746-025-09829-7>Human Studies<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10746-025-09829-7>)<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10746-025-09829-7> "Marking time: griefbots, world-time and the phenomenology of bereavement" (<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10099-y>Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10099-y>)<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10099-y> OUT NOW through Routledge: <https://www.routledge.com/Heideggers-Alternative-History-of-Time/Hughes-Stendera/p/book/9781003366904> Heidegger's Alternative History of Time<https://www.routledge.com/Heideggers-Alternative-History-of-Time/Hughes-Stendera/p/book/9781003366904>, co-authored with Emily Hughes<https://www.routledge.com/Heideggers-Alternative-History-of-Time/Hughes-Stendera/p/book/9781003366904> (if you're at Wollongong, you can access it directly through the library here<https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uow/detail.action?docID=31104138&pq-origsite=primo>) Read my work: philpeople.org/profiles/marilyn-stendera<https://philpeople.org/profiles/marilyn-stendera> Deputy Chair - Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy: ascp.org.au<https://www.ascp.org.au> --------- SydPhil mailing list To unsubscribe, change your membership options, find answers to common problems, or visit our online archives, please go to the list information page: https://mailman.sydney.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil
