PhD position 'Improvising security: subsistence in contemporary Rotterdam' (1,0 FTE)

We are looking for a PhD candidate who will participate in the NWO/Vidi project 'Improvising Security: Subsistence in Contemporary Urban Europe' and write a dissertation based on urban ethnographic research in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic began, Western Europeans had been navigating new insecurities in work, care, and access to basic infrastructures, arising from economic shifts and welfare reforms. This project addresses how people achieve solutions to the everyday challenges raised by these new insecurities. It examines how urban Europeans and Rotterdammers and Dubliners, specifically, improvise what is conceptualised as subsistence security in their everyday lives through combinations of practices; for example, working several jobs, cohabiting, or creating informal care arrangements. The PhD candidate will use qualitative ‘go along’ interviews, itinerary drawing and artistic methods. Their findings will permit the selection of cases for further in-depth ethnographic research. The research is firmly embedded in critical urban studies and is informed by studies about informality in cities in the Global South. The PhD candidate will collaborate with a PhD candidate who does a comparative case study in Dublin, Ireland, and with dr. Marguerite van den Berg (also the supervisor of the PhD project), in the context of a design-driven study.
The project will be carried out in the context of the larger project Improvising Security, of dr. Marguerite van den Berg. The PhD candidate will be employed at Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) and the PhD programme of the Netherlands Institute for Governance (NIG). Coaching, a good support structure as well as extensive training and education opportunities are part of the strengths of USG’s PhD programme. The PhD candidate will be involved in the research community of USG.

The envisioned start date is January 1, 2023, with some flexibility.

We are looking for a team player who brings the following:

• a substantial interest and/or experience in urban studies and feminist research;
• experience with or an interest in artistic methods;
• experience with or an interest in ethnographic methods;
• good writing skills;
• given the qualitative and ethnographic research, excellent Dutch language skills are important.

You will be offered a temporary position (1.0 FTE), initially for 18 months with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The gross salary ranges between €2,541 in the first year and €3,247 in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. 
In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability. 
The Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance is a faculty at the heart of society, with a strong focus on social issues. Our subjects of Law, Economics and Governance give us a strong mix of academic disciplines that complement and enhance each other. This is a unique combination and a mark of our faculty's strength.

The Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) is one of the three departments of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance of Utrecht University. USG studies public issues and public organisations in their interaction with the developments in politics and society. The key question in this is how public organisations and private organisations with a public task deal with current social issues, how they shape their public responsibilities and deliver public value. Our academic research is renowned both in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on the key themes of accountability, professionalism, public service performance, organisational change, innovation and public leadership. We pay particular attention to public organisations such as the European Union, central and local governments, the police, the armed forces and the judiciary, and private organisations with a public task, such as hospitals, schools, housing corporations, sports organisations and cultural institutions.