PhD in Cancelling as a Postcolonial Strategy for Repairing Cultural Heritage

We are looking for a PhD candidate for a project that delves into the meaning and applications of canceling practices within antiracist and decolonial movements. The specific focus is on cancelling as a reparative strategy aimed at addressing the enduring impact of historical injustices in the present. Termed 'reparative canceling,' these practices seek to rectify symbols, art, knowledge, cultural heritage, and ingrained cultural norms that are deemed harmful and unjust, thus perpetuating the legacy of colonial history.

Your job
You will investigate how reparative cancelling of cultural heritage is performed within antiracist and decolonial activism in both postcolonial (Global South) and post-imperial (Global North) societies. Specifically, it will scrutinise the foundations, justifications, reparative outcomes, and potential drawbacks of the diverse canceling strategies employed by contemporary antiracist and decolonial publics to engage with memory and cultural heritage.

The project will address the following sub-research questions:

1. Where does the 'right to cancel' stand in relation to the 'right of memory' and the preservation of cultural heritage?
2. How is the emergence of decolonial and antiracist counter-narratives and counter-memories facilitated by reparative cancelling?

You will tackle these questions by analysing chosen case studies encompassing a range of reparative cancelling practices, such as suppressing/banning, removing/displacing, renaming, and blacklisting/censoring, situated in different geographic locations - namely two postcolonial contexts and two post-imperial contexts.

You will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

• conducting research for and completing a PhD thesis within the period of appointment;
• publishing one peer-reviewed journal article within the period of appointment;
• co-editing one special journal issue with the supervisor;
• assisting with the organisation of workshops and an international conference.

We look forward to your application if you have the following qualifications:

• a Master’s degree in a relevant scientific discipline in the Humanities or Social Sciences, such as Postcolonial/Decolonial Studies, Cultural Studies, Media Studies, Philosophy;
• an excellent command of both the Dutch and English language and preferably French or Spanish;
• excellent academic writing skills;
• a strong interest in decolonising practices and reparations debates in relation to cultural heritage;
• preferably (but not necessarily) previous knowledge of the topic.

We offer:

• a job for 18 months. In case of good performance and a positive evaluation, the contract will be extended for the remaining period of 30 months (4 years in total);
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

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To apply, please send:

• your curriculum vitae;
• a letter of motivation;
• names and contact information of two referees; and
• a sample of writing in English (e.g., Master’s thesis chapter, final paper written for a Master’s course, or published article).