Thursday 17 May 2012

PhD candidate ‘Visualizing national societies’ (f/m, 1.0 fte)

Job Erasmus University Rotterdam - PhD candidate ‘Visualizing national societies’ (f/m, 1.0 fte)

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PhD candidate ‘Visualizing national societies’ (f/m, 1.0 fte)

Specifications - (explanation)
Location Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Function typesPhD positions
Scientific fieldsBehaviour and Society
Hours 38.0 hours per week
EducationUniversity Graduate
Job number FSW16052012
Translations
Apply for this job within 28 days

Job description

Project description:
This PhD position is part of the ERC-project ‘Monitoring modernity: a comparative analysis of practices of social imagination in the monitoring of global flows of goods, capital and persons’ (MONITORING). The project aims to study institutions specialized in visualizing society. It connects more encompassing ‘modern social imaginaries’ with ‘social imagination’, i.e., the everyday work of the production of images of climate, the economy, capital flows and migrant mobilities.
This PhD project focuses on the formation of the national imaginary in relation to immigration. This involves analyses of institutionalized forms of measuring belonging to national societies. Such measurements pertain mostly to the integration of immigrants, where socio-economic or cultural indicators are used to assess the degree to which immigrants ‘participate in society’. The project analyzes such measurements as ways of producing images of belonging that feed into and are further shaped by policy and public debate. They can be treated as specialized ways of securing collective memory and of visualizing society. This project analyzes a selection of population registries and censuses, and focuses on the specific institutions (statistical agencies, research projects) that visualize the position of immigrants in various EU-countries. Also, independent social scientific studies (e.g., conducted at universities) will be analyzed with the help of (amongst others) STS approaches and approaches from Visual studies. Multi-sited ethnography and (where possible) descriptive statistical methods will be used.
The PhD candidate will do fieldwork in various EU countries for periods of some weeks each. The PhD candidate will be based at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
The PhD candidate will contribute by:
1) conducting ethnographic research and discourse analysis and, where possible, combining this with correspondence analysis and/or (conceptual) network analysis
2) actively participating in the research team of the MONITORING project, including participation in a regular research and reading seminar and active and critical involvement in the other subprojects
3) participating in the Sociology research community, both at Erasmus University and internationally, through publishing and presenting research results in the form of articles in international peer reviewed journals, papers at international conferences and books at international academic publishers
4) participating in teaching (social theory and philosophy of science) and the supervision of MA-thesis students on this research project
Intensive training will, amongst others, be provided by the project leader, Dr. W. Schinkel, and by participation in the project’s research and reading seminar.

Requirements

Applicants should have completed a Master’s degree in Sociology, Science studies, Visual studies or another related discipline. The applicant should have very good apprehension of English; apprehension of other languages is an advantage. Experience with doing both ethnographic research and descriptive statistical research is regarded as an advantage as well. An academic attitude of critical curiosity is a prerequisite. An engagement with the public relevance of social scientific research is much welcomed as well.

Conditions of employment

The starting date for the position is 1 September 2012. The initial contract will be running for a term of 1,5 years, which – depending on performance, including a literature review – will be extended with a second term of 2,5 years. The conditions of employment correspond with the CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten (CAO NU). The Erasmus University offers a salary of € 2.042,- gross per month in the first year up to a maximum of € 2.612,- gross per month in the final year in accordance with the Promovendus scale of CAO NU. Salary is based on a fulltime occupation. Objective of the temporary 4-year position is the production of a thesis leading to a PhD degree. Candidates are to submit yearly progress report to the faculty’s standing committee for research.
The EUR has attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8.0%, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 41 annual vacation days in case of a full workweek.
Working at the Erasmus University Rotterdam means working in a professional environment, where development is encouraged through an active career and mobility policy. The Erasmus University Rotterdam highly appreciates flexibility: we have a 38-hour workweek, flexible working hours, possibilities to work part-time and maternal/paternal leave. Moreover, the University has a company childcare scheme, possibilities to participate in a terms of employment option model, company savings program and life insurance schemes and favourable collective insurance schemes. Employees can also make use of facilities such as sports facilities and library.
Contract type: Temporary, The initial contract will be running for a term of 1,5 years, which – depending on performance, including a literature review – will be extended with a second term of 2,5 years.

Organisation

Erasmus University Rotterdam
The expertise of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is concentrated in the fields of  Business Administration,  Economics, Medicine and Health Sciences, Law, Social Sciences, History, Culture and Communication, and Philosophy. In addition to the initial degree programmes and scientific research, the University offers specific postgraduate study programmes and courses. Erasmus University has around 25,000 students and some 2,500 staff members.

Department

Faculty of Social Sciences
The Faculty of Social Sciences houses four scientific disciplines, which provide teaching and research: Public Administration, Psychology, Sociology and Pedagogy. The central support staff works out of the faculty office. FSS is home to over 2500 students and there are currently 300 staff working at FSS.
Sociology
The department of Sociology provides academic teaching on the themes of labour, organisation and management, citizenship, social theory, urban sociology and policy.

Additional information

Additional information on Erasmus University and its Department of Sociology can be obtained through one of the following links:
About the Erasmus University Rotterdam
About the department of Sociology
Additional information about the research project, including a more detailed description of the content and context of the research, can be obtained from Dr. W. Schinkel by e-mail: schinkel@fsw.eur.nl.
To apply, please send your application letter with your CV (including research experience and, if available, publications), a list of courses and grades, and the names and contact details of two referees before 15 June 2012 by e-mail to: secretariaatsociologie@fsw.eur.nl. Please mention “PhD candidate Visualizing national societies”.
More information about employer Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) on AcademicTransfer. Direct link to this job opening: www.academictransfer.com/14206

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