PhD Position in Cultural Analysis

The Faculty of Humanities invites applications for a PhD position at the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), tenable from 1 September 2021.

What are you going to do?

Tasks will include:

• completion and defence of a PhD thesis within the contract period;
• regular presentation of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
• participation in the Faculty of Humanities PhD training programme;
• teaching courses at BA-level in the 2^nd and 3^rd year of the contract (0,2 FTE per year).

What do we ask of you?

• A completed Master’s degree in a field relevant to the proposed PhD project and the research areas of ASCA. You may apply if you have not yet completed your Master's degree only if you provide a signed letter from your supervisor stating that you will graduate before 1 September 2021;
• excellent command of English;
• excellent research skills.

NB. If you already hold a Dutch doctorate (or foreign equivalent, such as a PhD) or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.

Our offer

The PhD candidate at the Faculty of Humanities will be employed within ASCA. The employment contract will be for 4 years for 38 hours per week (1 FTE,  which is including 0,2 teaching in the second and third years of the employment contract) under the terms of employment currently valid for the Faculty. Initially, a contract will be given for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months on the basis of a positive evaluation after 12 months. The starting date of the contract is 1 September 2021.

The salary for the position (based on a full-time contract) will be €2,395 during the first year (gross per month) and will reach €3,061 during the fourth year, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. 

The PhD candidate receives a tuition fee waiver and has free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of the Faculty of Humanities and the Dutch National Research Schools.

Further information

For further information, please contact:

• Dr Eloe Kingma

About the Faculty of Humanities and the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis

The Faculty of Humanities offers a range of BA and MA programmes with a strong international profile and a large number of disciplines in the field of language and culture. Its research covers all important subdisciplines of the Humanities.

ASCA is one of the six research schools/institutes under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. Each research school/institute covers an important research area within the faculty and has its own research programme. Research schools/institute are also the home base for PhD candidates, who interact with each other and with senior members in the research groups that make up the research school.

ASCA is a research institute and doctoral school dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of culture from a broad humanities perspective. ASCA does not subscribe to any single theoretical or methodological practice, but, rather, is defined precisely by its interdisciplinary approach, in which researchers work at the intersections of core disciplines in the humanities to develop new theoretical frameworks and research methodologies for analysing culture in all its forms and expressions. ASCA is the only humanities research institute in the Netherlands to place interdisciplinarity and theoretical research on culture at the core of its mission, vision, and programme.

Job application

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

Your application should include the following:

1. Your curriculum vitae, listing at least:A list of grades (transcript) obtained for your Master (or equivalent) programme; at this stage a certified document is not yet necessary
   • full address and contact details
   • previous education
   • professional information (previous university (or relevant) employment)
   • language proficiency
   • grants/honours
   • conference presentations and publications, if applicable
2. A research proposal of no more than 800words with the following elements:Motivation for doing PhD research (no more than 200 words)
   • an outline of central issue/problem/question (why)
   • object(s) of research (what)
   • methodology (how)
   • how your research fits the programme of ASCA (e.g. specific research groups or centres within the ASCA (see our research groups and our funded research projects))
3. The name of a potential supervisor for your PhD project who is a staff member of ASCA. You do not have to contact this staff member before applying.
4. The name and contact details of one or two academic referees

Please supply this information in the order given above and submit your full application as one PDF file (please do not send multiple attachments), using your initials and surname as a file name, via the link below under the CV-button. Please note that your application will not be taken into consideration if you send multiple files, and/or if your application is late and/or incomplete.

The deadline for applications is 31 March 2021.

Selection procedure

The applications will be evaluated by a selection committee composed of representatives of the academic staff and a PhD researcher of ASCA. Committee members may not vote in cases of involvement with applicants. The committee will make a selection of candidates to invite for an interview in Amsterdam. The final selection will be made immediately following the interviews; the most promising candidate will be selected.

31 March 2021 - Deadline submission applications

1 April - Applications are checked for completeness

Early May - Applicants are informed whether they are invited for an interview

Mid-May - Interviews with candidates

End of May - Applicants informed about the result

1 September 2021 - Applicants start PhD projects

No agencies please