PhD Young migrant men’s contested care work and caring masculinities

Utrecht University invites applications for a PhD research position at the Faculty of Geosciences in a project investigating the everyday caring practices and geographies of young migrant men and the cultural politics which structure urban care spaces and dominant subjectivities and relations of care.

Your job

Today’s increasingly diverse and complex cities produce new and dynamic ways of relating to one another. Globalisation, migration and societal change on the one hand produce contested understandings of caring for each other. On the other, opportunities arise to (re)define caring in relation to changing economic conditions, social meanings and cultural norms. In many capitalist societies, however, existing unjust social structures and conditions continue to reinforce uneven geographies of care. Rather than a focus on how economically competitive cities are, this project explores the ‘caring city’ by investigating how cities ‘work’ and are understood as places that intersect with interpersonal caring, care relations and care work.

By bridging urban migration studies, youth geographies, feminist care theory and critical men and masculinity studies, you will investigate how young migrant men and masculinities are understood as subjects of urban caring. Young males with a migration background are increasingly seen in the public opinion as ‘idle’, ‘disorderly’ or ‘aggressive’ subjects, and therefore a social problem and a matter of ‘urban security’ that needs addressing. In the spirit of finding alternatives based on social justice, and by challenging and complicating public discourses that link masculine migrant youth with ‘aggression’, ‘backwardness’ and ‘dominance’, this project aims to promote social cohesion and the creation of a more caring and tolerant urban life for all.

Drawing on a qualitative and participatory research design, the project seeks to learn from the particular case of Rotterdam and identify lessons applicable to other post-industrial cities. It seeks to establish a state-of-the-art understanding of young male migrants’ care geographies through a synthesis of urban migration studies, youth geographies, feminist care theory and critical men and masculinity studies. The successful candidate is stimulated to bring in their own theoretical and methodological perspectives and publish from the research project based on their own interests, but the research should be empirically grounded and enrich theoretical debates relevant to the intersection of geography, care and migration studies.

The tasks of the PhD student will include the following:

• designing and carrying out qualitative and participatory research activities in collaboration with societal partners based in Rotterdam. Possible methods include - but are not limited to – ethnographic observation, in-depth/walk-along interviews and photovoice methods in the city of Rotterdam;
• reporting on research findings in the form of international peer reviewed articles and policy reports, as well as through creative forms of dissemination suitable for the target group and social actors (e.g., podcast, blog, zine-making, photo exhibition);
• co-organising public engagement activities (e.g., one or more expert meetings with a variety of stakeholders to reflect on the project’s findings and recommendations for policy, one or more public events for lay audiences to facilitate discussion).

In addition to research-related activities, the PhD candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to teaching activities in Urban Geography and Spatial Planning at Bachelor and Master level, as well as education for professionals.

The successful candidate will be funded by the Geosciences Graduate School of Utrecht University to support project development (e.g. training courses, summer schools, conferences, etc.), data collection and dissemination. The project is situated within the Urban Geography section at the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning at Utrecht University. The candidate will have other opportunities for development through the university-wide platforms ofDynamics of Youth (DoY) andInstitutions of Open Societies (IOS).

Your supervisory team will consist of;

• Dr Rik Huizinga, Assistant Professor in Urban Geography, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Daily supervisor and co-promotor;
• Dr Dora Sampaio, Assistant Professor in International Development Studies, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Daily supervisor and co-promotor;
• Dr Ilse van Liempt, Associate Professor in Urban Geography, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Promotor iit.

Your qualities

We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and proactive team member. The ideal candidate has:

• a Master’s degree in Human Geography, Gender Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies or other related fields with a clear affinity for geographical and/or planning research;
• strong familiarity with debates around inclusive and caring cities, gender relations and equality and/or transnational migration;
• an excellent academic track record and demonstrated experience in the use of qualitative, participatory and ethnographic research methods;
• a near-native level of Dutch and excellent academic writing skills in English;
• the ability to work with a range of stakeholders and conduct independent field research;
• versatile communication and organisational skills to effectively interact with the different actors and stakeholders involved;
• an interest to write academic publications and produce other creative dissemination materials for the broader public.

Our offer

We offer:

• a position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 2,770 and € 3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU);
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.