The Department of Communication in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the University of Münster, Germany, invites applications for the following position, starting on 1 March 2027

You will work within the international collaborative research project “Manipulation of the past”. The project examines how far-right actors in Spain, Italy, and Germany use historical narratives in digital communication and instrumentalize them for their political objectives. It focuses on the history of National Socialism, Italian Fascism, and the Franco regime, as well as the dissemination and algorithmic amplification of related content on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. The advertised position in the subproject led by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Quandt focuses on empirical communication research. Using computational methods from digital communication research, the project examines how historical narratives emerge, evolve, and spread through digital media.

Your tasks will include:

• Contribute to the development of methods for the computational analysis of content on onlineplatforms
• Contribute to the development of data pipelines for collecting image and video data from onlineplatforms
• Conduct content analyses of social media data
• Present research findings at national and international conferences
• Publish research findings in international peer-reviewed journals, primarily in English

• Master’s degree in Communication Science or a related social science discipline with a very goodor good final grade
• Demonstrated interest in the above research area and the development of social scienceresearch methods
• Interest in and ideally knowledge of social media research
• Good knowledge of empirical research methods
• Good knowledge of computational methods, particularly in the analysis of content data (text,images, and audio)
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Strong teamwork, communication, and organizational skills, as well as the ability to workindependently
• Due to the collaborative nature of the project and the research team, regular on-site presence inMünster is required

• The opportunity to work in a large, research-intensive team in the field of CommunicationScience and gain experience in a collaborative interdisciplinary research project
• Support with the development and realisation of your own research project within the OnlineCommunication Research Group
• Individual mentoring and opportunities for further training and professional development
• The opportunity to participate in international conferences and benefit from the group’sextensive network of academic collaborations. International mobility is actively supported andstrongly encouraged.
• A working environment characterized by appreciation, reliability, openness and mutual respect