Doctoral candidates Theatre, media, and science history

 

The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20 000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.

The Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts in the Faculty of Arts is looking for two full-time (100%) doctoral candidates in the fields of theatre, media, and science history

The two PhD candidates will collaborate in an interdisciplinary ERC project called “Science at the Fair: Performing Knowledge and Technology in Western Europe, 1850-1914”, coordinated by Prof. Nele Wynants. The EU-funded SciFair project will perform pioneering research on the role itinerant show people played in the dissemination of information about scientific and technological advances at fairs in North-Western Europe between 1850 and 1914. The project is based on the hypothesis that fairs during this period were not only local folk events but also centres of international exchange. SciFair will engage a multilingual and multidisciplinary team to analyse practices of science performance across national frontiers and map transnational networks of scientific entertainment. For more information and other available vacancies, see: www.scifair.eu.

The two subprojects will analyse practices of science performance at the fair across national boundaries by focusing on (1) the performance of technology and (2) the performance of medicine and anthropology:

PhD1: Science and Illusion: Performing Technology: How were new technologies performed in so-called physiques amusantes (entertaining physiques), what kind of knowledge did they spread and to what extent did these shows demystify or reinforce popular accounts of magic and superstition?

PhD2: Spectacular Bodies: Performing Medicine and Anthropology: What kind of knowledge of the body was performed (and how) in anatomical cabinets, freak shows and so-called ethnographic museums and which ideas and cultural values about the sane, the ‘normal’ or ‘white’ body, but also disease and physical deviation were challenged or reinforced at the 19th-century fair?

The successful candidate will work on one of the two subprojects. The PhD students will be supported by two supervisors and a postdoctoral researcher.

Position

• You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the fields of theatre, media, and science history.
• Your research will be conducted within the framework of the EU-funded SciFair project.
• You will publish scientific articles related to the research project. These publications can be co-authored with other project members.
• You are involved in the valorisation program of the SciFair project, communicating the results to different target audiences (including the media and the public) and share the findings of your research at international academic conferences.
• You participate in the research activities of the SciFair project, as well as related projects such as B-magic (www.B-magic.eu) and relevant activities of ARIA.

Profile

• You hold a Master degree in theatre studies, media studies, cultural history, art history (or an allied discipline) or you will have obtained it by the time you start work.
• Students in the final year of their degree are also encouraged to apply.
• You can demonstrate excellent study results. Previous academic work, publications and expertise will be taken into account.
• You have an affinity for working with historical sources.
• You are willing and able to work and communicate within a broader team of international researchers.
• You are willing to occasionally conduct research in archives abroad.
• You can speak and write fluently in English.
• You have a good command of at least two of the following languages: French, Dutch, German and/or Spanish.
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity, and cooperation.
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.

What we offer

• We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of two years. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another two years.
• The planned starting date is 1 October 2021 or as soon as possible after that date.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
• You will do most of your work at UAntwerp City Campus in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 15 July 2021 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button, complete the online application form and be sure to include the following attachments: (1) a motivation letter, including a statement explaining your motivation for the relevant vacancy (P1 or P2), (2) your academic CV with Bachelor and Master qualification (including grades or marks), (3) a writing sample (excerpt from your Master's thesis, paper, article, etc.), (4) a reference letter (e.g. from your thesis supervisor)
• The selection committee will review all of the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline.
• Shortlisted candidates, selected to take part in interviews, will be notified by 10 August 2021. The interviews will take place on 30 August 2021. Candidates will be expected to propose a research plan based on the proposed subproject at the interview.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact Prof. Nele Wynants: nele.wynants@uantwerpen.be .

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.

 

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