PhD position Visual Gendered Disinformation

Job description

Fully funded PhD position with the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen, in the project “Visual Gendered Disinformation”.

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an internationally recognized research centre and gain valuable research experience at a top-ranked European university. As a PhD candidate, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the supervisory team. You will conduct independent and original academic research and report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD dissertation. The PhD thesis is to be completed within four years. You are also requested to teach.

You will work with the following supervisory team:

• Dr. Marília Gehrke (co-promoter)
• Dr. Eedan Amit-Danhi (co-promoter)
• Dr. Scott Eldridge (promoter)

The PhD Project

This PhD project investigates disinformation at the intersections of gender, visual communication, and political discourse. It studies how women politicians’ intersectional identities are targeted in false and misleading content. As generative AI tools are becoming more accessible and often materialize as deepfakes, disinformation campaigns’ visual and multimodal aspects pose new challenges for political representation and democratic discourse. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining political communication and media studies with a focus on gender and visual disinformation, this PhD project will examine the distinguishing features of gendered multimodal disinformation, its perception by audiences, and its impact on women in the political sphere targeted by it.

Methodologically, research in this project employs qualitative methods, incorporating a systematic literature review, multimodal discourse analysis, media diaries, focus groups, and in-depth interviews with women who have been targeted by disinformation campaigns. This comprehensive approach contributes to a better understanding of how disinformation campaigns target women in the political context, potentially discouraging them from pursuing public careers. This is a particular concern given that women are underrepresented in prominent political positions, holding head-of-state positions in only 23% of countries. When they do reach these positions of power, women politicians are often subject to backlash when they do not meet gender-stereotypical expectations.

You will be asked to

• Develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisors.
• Conduct independent and original academic research.
• Report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD dissertation.
• Conduct a total of 0.4 FTE teaching spread over the second, third, and fourth years of your appointment.
• Complete the PhD in the specified timeframe, namely four years.
• Contribute to scientific and public engagement.

Note: This call does not specify the geographical scope of this PhD project; options include data collection related to Latin America, the United States/Canada, Central/Northern Europe, or the Levant. The final focus of empirical work will be decided based on the expertise and interest of the PhD candidate in consultation with the supervisory team. Consider this when preparing your research proposal (for further guidance, see the section “Application”).

Organisation

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 34,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city of Groningen. It has more than 5000 students and 700 staff members, who are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies.

Qualifications

• A Research Master’s (ReMa) or Master’s degree with a research component (including thesis) in Media Studies or related areas such as Journalism Studies, Communications, or Political Science with high academic merit—an average grade of 8.0 or above on the Dutch scale (or international equivalent) is preferred.
• Demonstrable methodological and analytical skills and the capacity to develop and conduct innovative research.
• A clear and well-articulated motivation for pursuing PhD research.
• High level of spoken command of English and academic writing skills (i.e., the equivalent of 7.0 IELTS overall; see ‘Application’ below).
• Knowledge of the language and culture of the proposed geographic area-of-focus for the case studies and willingness to pursue further language and cultural training if needed.
• A clear research interest in the topic of the project (e.g., is intrinsically motivated to pursue critical feminist research in the digital world or to confront disinformation through Gen-AI).
• Having experience with and/or knowledge in the proposed project area (ideally at master's level) is an asset.
• Great interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team.

Knowledge of Dutch is NOT required.

Organisation

Conditions of employment

In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you

• A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position.
• A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income.
• An 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance.
• A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether employment will be continued.
• The PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 FTE teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of their appointment.
• Excellent work-life balance.
• Willingness to move to and reside in the Netherlands.

The appointment will commence on 1 September 2025. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.