Postdoctoral researcher in the field of Food Studies

Project description

The TASTE Project, funded by the European Research Council and running from June 2024 to summer 2029, explores culinary change by focusing on three Indonesian diasporas. It investigates how these cuisines have historically adapted to new environments and continue to evolve today. The project examines the complex cultural, historical, social, economic, and environmental forces that shape, intersect, and sometimes conflict in these processes.
The project, consisting of a principal investigator and three PhD candidates studying taste transformations in South Africa, Suriname, and Sri Lanka, is now seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the team.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting your own research and publishing the findings, aiming to produce at least one peer-reviewed journal article per year on food within the broader framework of the TASTE Project, as well as one public-facing output annually (e.g., a popular article, podcast, or video).
• Identifying and synthesizing synergies across the distinct PhD projects in Suriname, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, including by maintaining regular contact with the PhD researchers during their fieldwork.
• Taking a leading role, both intellectually and logistically, in co-editing a volume on culinary change in Indonesian diasporas
• Actively participating in academic conferences, workshops, and other scholarly and outreach activities
• Playing a proactive, hands-on role in supporting project administration and financial oversight.

Your research background
We invite applications from candidates with a strong track record in the study of socio-cultural aspects of food. The ideal candidate will have a background in anthropology, history, economic history, ethnobotany, human geography, cultural studies, sociology, political science, or a related field. Experience with the sensory and embodied dimensions of food beyond textual sources is highly desirable. Additionally, being connected to local networks in any of the destination countries will be considered a significant asset.

Possible specializations may include but are not limited to:

• Gender and intergenerational memory.
• Cutting-edge sensory ethnographic research on how taste functions both methodologically and practically.
• Global political economy (agribusiness, commodity trade, the global spread of industrialized foods) and its impact on diasporic food cultures (e.g. through changes in ingredient availability).
• Human-nature relationships under colonial settings and the ways they manifests today.
• Diasporic foodways amidst the rise of gastro-nationalism, heritagization, and culinary diplomacy.

Information
For further information on this project, please get in touch with Tom Hoogervorst (hoogervorst[at]kitlv.nl)

Applications
Please submit your application package by 20 August 2025, 12:00 CEST, using the blue button in our online application system. The selection process will remain open until the position is filled. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in an online interview.

Applications must be submitted online. The motivation letter and CV should be combined into a single document, as the application system allows only two uploads:

• A combined motivation letter (maximum 600 words) and detailed curriculum vitae.
• A relevant sample article (published or accepted for publication).

Selection criteria
The candidate should:

• Hold a recent PhD in one of the specializations listed above, with a dissertation broadly focused on the socio-cultural aspects of food, earned from an internationally recognized university
• Show a strong interest in the project’s central research question: how taste changes in and beyond Indonesian diasporas
• Be capable of mentoring (but not supervising) the three PhD candidates within the research team
• Demonstrate a proven academic track record, as reflected in their publications
• Have excellent written and spoken English skills, and preferably proficiency in a language spoken in one of the destination countries.
• Be an active and engaged participant within both the research team and the host institution

Please submit a combined CV and motivation letter along with your most relevant publication related to the project. Publications that have been accepted but not yet published are also welcome.

Also note that there is currently an acute shortage of housing in the Netherlands, and the institute is unable to provide accommodation. While we can offer advice on searching for housing, a proactive approach on your part is essential.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is 3,897 and the maximum salary is 4,707 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale [[ufoSchaal]] cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.

About the KITLV
The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. The KITLV conducts interdisciplinary and comparative historical research. Its research focus is Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on Indonesia and the 'Dutch' Caribbean. It is particularly interested in such issues as state formation, violence and citizenship, processes of mobility and the formation of ethnic and national identity. KITLV is active in the humanities, social sciences and comparative area studies and works closely with Leiden University.

The TASTE Project, funded by the European Research Council and running from June 2024 to the summer of 2029, examines shifting food preferences and culinary change. Centered on three Indonesian diasporas, the project explores how people have adapted their culinary traditions to new environments in the past and continue to reshape them today. In doing so, we scrutinize how cultural, historical, social, economic, and environmental factors operate, intersect, and occasionally conflict in these transformations.