The Amsterdam School for Heritage and Memory (AHM) is hiring a Postdoc researcher position as part of the Horizon Europe-funded project Petroculture’s Intersection with the Cultural Heritage Sector in the Context of Green Transitions (PITCH), led by researchers Dr. Jeff Diamanti and Dr. Colin Sterling. AHM is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR).

What are you going to do?
The Horizon Europe-funded project “Petroculture’s Intersections with The Cultural Heritage sector in the context of green transitions” (PITCH) aims to create a deeper understanding of petroculture’s intersections with heritage practices and how these reflect social, economic, and political changes over time. Through this research, the project aims to help citizens understand how petrocultures have affected their lives and be confident about how they might envision those lives otherwise, in a post fossil-fuel world. PITCH is a collaboration between the University of Stavanger, University College London, University of Amsterdam, ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, and Utrecht University. The project team will conduct pilot interventions at three different types of sites (museums, industrial heritage sites, and heritage landscapes) with four cultural heritage partners based in Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The University of Amsterdam’s contribution to the project will focus on the creative re-use of fossil fuel infrastructures. As a post-doctoral researcher on the project, you will contribute to research on emerging economic and ecological approaches that aim to reinterpret and animate fossil fuel infrastructures in ways that actively build a more just and sustainable future. You will also undertake primary research in collaboration with project partner E-WERK Luckenwalde, a not-for-profit Kunststrom (‘art-power’) Kraftwerk (power station) and contemporary art centre. E-WERK is an experimental prototype for a sustainable institution, powered and financed by the sale of 100% CO2 neutral heat and electricity. It is located in a former coal power station built in 1913, which has been reactivated as a CO2 neutral Kunststrom power station by artist Pablo Wendel. The power station provides heat and electricity for a contemporary art programme directed by curator Helen Turner.

E-WERK was established to pioneer more sustainable economic and ecological models for the cultural sector. As part of the PITCH project, the post-doctoral researcher will investigate the applicability of this model for other heritage and cultural institutions, and the impact such approaches may have on how citizens relate to historic energy infrastructures.

Your tasks and responsibilities:

• Conduct secondary and primary research on new ecological and economic models for ‘reactivating’ energy infrastructures in collaboration with the project leads and the E-WERK team;
• Present intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
• Publish at least one co-authored peer-reviewed article, and one book chapter in an edited volume emerging from the project;
• Co-organise knowledge dissemination activities and contribute to curatorial programme and workshops to be developed at E-WERK;
• Participate in meetings of the project research group (this may involve travel to Portugal, the UK, Norway, Germany, and Finland);
• The Postdoc is expected to be present at E-WERK at a frequency to be negotiated with the supervisory team.

We are looking for a candidate who is proactive, who can work across academic and artistic contexts, and who combines attention to detail with critical and creative thinking.

Your experience and profile
Candidates need to have the following qualifications:

• A PhD in Heritage Studies, Cultural Studies, the Environmental Humanities, Political Ecology, or a related field;
• Knowledge of current debates around the ecological crisis, sustainability, heritage, and the cultural sector;
• Understanding of economic models as they relate to cultural institutions and practices;
• Excellent research skills demonstrated through academic publications appropriate to the career stage;
• A strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research;
• Enthusiasm for communicating academic research to non-academic audiences;
• Fluency in English.

Knowledge of German is desirable to engage with local communities at Luckenwalde. Prior knowledge of economic and ecological concepts related to the green transition (e.g. degrowth) would also be beneficial.

The Postdoc researcher will be appointed at the Department of Arts and Culture of the Faculty of Humanities and will conduct the research in AHM. The employment will be for one year. Contingent on a positive performance evaluation the contract will be extended for 1 year. The employment contract is for 38 hours a week. The preferred starting date is 01 July 2024.

Your salary, depending on relevant experience on commencement of the employment contract, ranges between € 3.226 to € 5.090 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. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

What else do we offer?

• excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• an enthusiastic and professional academic team;
• an inspiring academic and international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers at research institutes that - partly as a result of their interdisciplinary approach - are world renowned;
• Travel funding for larger PITCH team projects and retreats.

Faculty of Humanities

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 42,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in de field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.