Postdoctoral Researcher in the Cultural Imaginary of Environmental Violence

Utrecht University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher in the ERC Consolidator Grant project “Ecologies of Violence: Crimes against Nature in the Contemporary Cultural Imagination [EcoViolence]”.

Your job
As a postdoctoral researcher you will be working on a subproject within the Consolidator Grant project EcoViolence (2024–2029) funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and directed by Dr Susanne C. Knittel (Principal Investigator, PI) at the Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication. EcoViolence is an interdisciplinary, transnational, and comparative study of the cultural imaginary of environmental violence. The project’s aim is to understand how contemporary culture frames and remembers environmental degradation as violence; how it can make visible the deep historical roots that tie eco-violence to other histories of violence, especially colonialism and genocide; and how it articulates and reflects on questions of guilt, responsibility, and implication. EcoViolence will bring together research in cultural memory studies and ecocriticism in order to develop an innovative ecological model for the study of violence, its memory and representation. Furthermore, the project explores how these representations harness affect and emotion to promote critical self-reflection. The project focuses on narrative and visual media and takes a comparative, multilingual, and media-specific approach.

The subproject 'Images of EcoViolence' will focus on the aesthetic, political, and affective dimensions of contemporary documentary film. It will contribute to current debates on the role of visual culture in representing eco-violence and its links to other histories and structures of violence. As an investigative genre par excellence, based on a discourse of evidence, truth, and social representation, documentaries are a particularly fruitful site for the representation of large-scale violence and a critical engagement with questions of guilt, responsibility, and implication. The corpus will consist of a range of different types of documentaries: from mainstream productions to more experimental, independent films. The approach will be transnational/transcultural and multilingual, and the methodology will be comparative, visual, and media analysis as well as discourse analysis. Your research will draw on recent scholarship in cultural memory studies, ecocriticism – specifically eco-cinema, and affect theory to analyse the cinematic and rhetorical techniques, as well as the use of mediation, remediation, testimony, data, and evidence in these films. You will furthermore explore the place of these films within a larger media ecology, focusing especially on the growing number of environmental film festivals.

You will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

• conducting research within the period of appointment;
• publishing peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters;
• co-editing one special journal issue with the PI;
• helping with the organisation of workshops and an international conference;
• participating in project meetings, and closely collaborating with the other members of the research team;
• helping with setting up and managing project data;
• assisting with knowledge dissemination and other activities of the project;
• presenting research results at national and international workshops and conferences.

You will be embedded within the Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON) and affiliated with the Utrecht Forum for Memory Studies and the Network for Environmental Humanities.

• A part-time position for 12 months, with an extension of up to 12 months after a positive evaluation (for a total maximum duration of 24 months);
• a working week of 30-32 hours (part-time) and a gross monthly salary between €4,227 and €4,537 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10.5, 11.0 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.

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 strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Humanities has around 7,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city centre of Utrecht, where the faculty is located, contribute to an inspiring working environment.

For more information, please contact Dr Susanne C. Knittel at s.c.knittel@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.

As Utrecht University, we want to be a home for everyone. We value staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including cultural, religious or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish and contribute.

To apply, please send the following documents via the ‘apply now’ button:

• your academic curriculum vitae, including: full address and contact details, education, list of academic publications, relevant work experience and language proficiency, as well as grants/honours, conference presentations;
• your motivation letter, stating your reasons for applying and detailing why you are an excellent candidate for the position and how you intend to contribute to the project;
• academic transcripts of your PhD and Master’s degrees;
• a writing sample (maximum 6000 words) that showcases your research and academic writing skills;
• the names and contact details of two referees familiar with your academic record and research skills. One of the referees must be your PhD thesis supervisor. The referees may be approached by the selection committee.

The first round of interviews will take place in the week of 28 April. The estimated starting date of the position is 1 September 2025.