Post-doctorate in Social Sciences and Humanities: Shared Heritage – actors, practices and knowledge of heritage care in institutions and at their margins Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in France

Postdoctoral opportunity in the Social Sciences and Humanities at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN), within the UMR 208 PALOC research unit in Paris. The position is part of the SPHINX project (“Sciences du Patrimoine : Héritage, Innovation, enjeuX”) and its programme on Shared Heritage, which explores how heritage circulates, is shared, and gains value across interinstitutional settings such as libraries, museums, archives, research laboratories, and civil society organisations.

The postdoctoral researcher will develop an individual project on heritage-related social interactions and collaborations at the boundaries of institutions. The research focuses on the relationships between heritage professionals, collectives, associations, amateurs, and wider publics, with attention to forms of engagement, mobilisation, transmission, and mediation. A central ambition is to document ordinary practices of heritage care and transmission, identify hybrid forms of knowledge production, and reflect on institutions as living environments committed to ethics of care.

The role combines research and coordination. Half of the time is devoted to research activity: producing articles and presentations, contributing to scientific and societal valorisation, and advancing understanding of everyday heritage practices and the recognition of cultural and political forms of heritage knowledge. The other half involves participating in the coordination of surveys, seminars, partner relations, archiving, and dissemination activities across SPHINX work packages, especially work package 3 and dissemination-oriented tasks.

The project is situated within PALOC, a multidisciplinary humanities and social sciences unit jointly supervised by the IRD, MNHN, and CNRS, based at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The broader unit studies patrimonialisation and heritage as key processes for understanding social, cultural, environmental, and political transformations, with a strong emphasis on the perspectives and logics of local actors in relation to knowledge institutions.

Eligibility highlights: PhD or equivalent in Information and Communication Sciences or a related discipline, obtained within the last 3 years; strong familiarity with heritage institutions and institutional research settings; experience with qualitative and collaborative fieldwork; excellent French and English writing skills; and the ability to work in a multi-institutional environment.

Application deadline: 15 August 2026 at 23:59 (Europe/Paris). Apply through the MNHN recruitment portal using the official job link.