PhD Position: Chinese Migrants' Selves in Europe

Are you looking for a challenging position in a dynamic setting? Research school ARTES currently has a vacant PhD position as part of the project “Me, Myself, and I – Chinese Migrants’ Selves in Europe”, led by principal investigator Dr. Linde Luijnenburg and Dr. Franziska Plümmer. ARTES is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR).

The Amsterdam School for Regional and Transnational and European Studies (ARTES) combines humanities and social science-based approaches to the study of Europe and other world regions, and the relations between them. Migration is, arguably more so than ever, a keyword for researching these intercultural relations.

What are you going to do?

Various forms, motivations, and time frames of migratory movements between China and Europe have been analysed from multiple academic perspectives. Within this field, we recognise a new milieu of young Chinese citizens moving to Europe after the COVID epidemic, a process often referred to as the ‘run’. Some consider this new group of emigrants and their decisions to emigrate as political. This calls for taking a fresh perspective on how this new group of emigrants finds themselves in their new host countries.

You will write a PhD thesis on the topic ‘new’ Chinese migration in Europe. The PhD will be produced under the supervision of ARTES members Dr. Linde Luijnenburg, Dr. Franziska Plümmer, and Prof. Josephine Hoegaerts. Possible research angles are the roles of the migrant in political, social, and cultural lives; their self-perception and perception by others, how they are considered a political entity, how they dream, aspire, and work, how they seek representation, and how they relate to others (migrants, family, or the state). Your project will deal with questions of (the politics of) identity representation, and (self-)positioning of this new Chinese migrant cohort in Europe.

You would be free to choose a topic that fits your prior qualifications such as a focus on migrants’ media or cultural representation, diaspora organisation, art & activism, intimate relationships, or other angles. We invite applications in the shape of a convincing research proposal, presenting your academic merit, critical approach to research material, and inventiveness.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Collaborating in a larger interdisciplinary research project run by Dr. Linde Luijnenburg and Dr. Franziska Plümmer, situated at the European Studies department of the University of Amsterdam (UvA);
• Submission of a PhD thesis within the period of appointment, consisting of the following steps: 1) establishing state-of-the-art, 2) identifying a research gap and a fitting corpus to investigate, 3) undertaking field-research, 4) analysing and evaluate findings, 5) translating those into an academic, independently written text;
• (co-) Authoring academic publications;
• (co-) Organising academic workshops and/or events;
• Actively participating in the research environment within the Research School at UvA and beyond;
• Exploring creative forms of translating research findings (i.e. movies, activism, museum exhibitions, etc.);
• (Co-)teaching courses at the BA-level in the 2nd and 3rd year of the appointment (max. 0,2FTE per year);
• Awareness of a plurality of voices, nuanced discourses, silenced narrations, positionalities, i.e. the inclusion of gendered, sexualised, colonised, etc. perspectives.

What do you have to offer?

Your experience and profile:

Candidates preferably have the following qualifications:

• A completed Master's degree in European Studies, Chinese Studies, Migration Studies, Anthropology, Political Sciences, Media Studies, Human Geography, or a similar field. 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 30 June 2024;
• Excellent research skills demonstrated by a well-written Master's thesis and a demonstrable interest in developing a track record of publishing;
• Able to conduct qualitative, ethnographic and/or cultural analytical research;
• Cooperative, investigative, creative;
• Able to communicate research findings through academic articles, conference papers, and possibly, other forms such as film production, online presence, etc. (or eager to improve skills in this);
• Fluent in spoken and written English, and preferably one of the following languages: a Chinese language, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Spanish;
• We especially value an ethical commitment to the societal position of the communities that your research engages with.

Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.

What can we offer you?

We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The employment contract is for 38 hours a week. The preferred starting date is 01 September 2024.

Your salary is in the first year of the employment contract € 2,770 up and in the last year a maximum of € 3,539 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8,3% year-end allowance. Favourable tax agreements may apply to applicants moving from abroad.

What else do we offer?

• PhD candidates receive a tuition fee waiver;
• PhD candidates have free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of Humanities and the Dutch National Research Schools;
• excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• an inspiring academic and international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• an enthusiastic and professional academic team.