The Department of Communication Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has a vacancy for a PhD Candidate on the topic of ‘Contemporary political satire: The effects of satiric news’. The research project has been funded by a VIDI grant by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and is being led by dr. Christian Burgers. You will be part of a larger project team, containing the principle investigator, two PhD Candidates and a number of student assistants. Next to the Department of Communication Science and the Institute for Societal Resilience, this project will also be embedded in the Metaphor Lab Amsterdam.
The project is highly interdisciplinary, combining elements from communication-scientific insights into political satire with elements from the applied-linguistics literature on effects of linguistic framing. 
 
The goal of the project is unravelling the impact of language use in satiric news, with a particular focus of figuration (metaphor, hyperbole, irony). You will study how differential language use in satiric news impacts processing, and its subsequent enjoyment, appreciation and political impact. To answer this question, you will conduct a number of quantitative experiments. You will have the opportunity to use specific techniques for measuring online processing (e.g., eye-tracking). You will write research articles which will culminate in a PhD dissertation. 

• Set up and running experiments on Dutch-language satiric news;
• Analyze data using quantitative techniques (e.g., multivariate statistics, Structural Equation Modelling);
• Write a PhD dissertation consisting of research articles;
• Work in an interdisciplinary research team;
• Participate in international conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities;
• Participate in outreach activities of the VIDI project in collaboration with the other team members;
• Participate in the VU Graduate School for Social Sciences.

• Master’s degree in Communication Science or a Master’s degree in another discipline relevant to the project such as Journalism Studies, Communication and Information Sciences (CIW), Linguistics or Political Science (candidates with another Master’s degree may apply, but should motivate why their experience suffices for this project). Having completed a research master or holding equivalent qualifications is a plus;
• Experience with quantitative experiments;
• (Near-)native proficiency of Dutch (as you will be designing Dutch-language experiments focusing on differences in language use);
• Familiarity with quantitative data analysis in programs like SPSS or R;
• The motivation to work in an interdisciplinary team.

The initial appointment will be for a period of 1 year. After satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years.
 
The successful candidate will begin their project on 1 September 2018. A later date is negotiable.
 
You can find information about our excellent fringe benefits of employment at our website like:
• Remuneration of  8,3% end-of-year bonus and  8% holiday allowance;
• Solid pension scheme (ABP);
• A minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment;
 
The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel, and amounts € 2222,00 gross per month in the first year up to € 2840,00 in the fourth year (salary scale 85) based on a full-time employment.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) is a leading, innovative and growing university that is at the heart of society and actively contributes to new developments in teaching and research. Our university has ten faculties, and provides work for over 4,500 staff and scientific education for more than 23,000 students.

http://www.vu.nl/en/index.asp

The Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) is one of the larger faculties of the Vrije Universiteit. Over 2,500 students and more than 250 employees are engaged in teaching and research on social-science issues. The faculty has 5 bachelor- and 7 master programs. In addition to communication science, the faculty offers bachelor and master programs in anthropology, political science, public administration, sociology and organization science. The main focus of research is societal resilience.

http://www.fsw.vu.nl/en/research/institute-for-societal-resilience/