Claire Blencowe

Research Fellow in Sociology / Religion and Extractive Industry Struggles at the University of Warwick, Department of Sociology. This is a fixed-term, full-time research post on the ERC-funded RAIDS project: Religious Authority in Extractive Industry Struggles , led by Professor Claire Blencowe. The project examines how religion, spiritual authority, and forms of “soft power” operate in conflicts over mining and extractive infrastructure, with a specific focus for this post on case studies in the USA. The successful candidate will work closely with mine-affected communities and contribute to participatory, community-based research. The role includes a six-month preparatory phase (literature review, ethics clearance, and training), followed by a year of empirical fieldwork and a final six months focused on outputs such as a lead-authored journal article, data packages, news stories, website content, and a co-authored book. Research interests / keywords: sociology, religion, extractive industries, environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty, settler colonialism, racial capitalism, Christian nationalism, petro-cultures, pipeline politics, participatory research, ethnography, participant observation. Eligibility highlights: applicants should have a PhD, or be near PhD submission; experience with qualitative and participatory methods is required; expertise related to the USA and extractive conflicts is desirable; and the post is intended for engaged activist-scholars who can work sensitively and ethically with communities affected by environmental harm, displacement, or political conflict. Funding / contract: full-time fixed-term post for 24 months, salary £35,608–£46,049 per annum. Candidates without a conferred PhD may initially be appointed at Research Assistant level until the PhD is awarded. How to apply: submit a CV and cover letter online by 5 November 2026. Applicants must also propose two extractive industry struggles they could research as case studies, briefly explaining why each is promising for studying religious authority and why they are a good fit to work with those communities.