2 PhD's in JUST MATTER. Situated Material Engagement for Climate Justice

For "JUST MATTER: Situated Material Engagement for Climate Justice," we are seeking two highly motivated PhD students to join Utrecht University for a fully-funded PhD research project.

Your job
The two PhD projects are part of the NWO-funded Consortium JUST ART. Creating Common Grounds for Climate Justice Through Artistic Research, a six-year project on climate justice and artistic research in the Caribbean and European parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and led by the University of Groningen. It offers 10 PhD positions at six universities in collaboration with the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and four universities of applied sciences. JUST ART PhD students will generate new knowledge and critically assess approaches that integrate scientific insights with artistic research to address climate justice. JUST ART PhDs will study and develop concrete cases to learn how art and artistic research can be embedded in ongoing and emerging work on climate justice. They will enhance expertise and skills to take artistic and art-based transformative action on climate justice and will contribute to theoretical frameworks, common methods, educational toolkits, and knowledge-sharing platforms in co-creation with project partners. For more information, see www.justart.info

The two PhD-positions are part of the JUST ART Theme Nr. 2 “JUST MATTER: Situated Material for Climate Justice,” in which Utrecht University collaborates with Avans University for Applied Sciences, particularly the Centre for Applied Research in Art, Design and Technology (CARADT) which operates at the intersection of art, design, and technology to develop new knowledge for education and society through practice-based research.

PhD 1: Material Engagement with Everyday Textiles

What can the history of everyday textiles – the things we wear, wash our dishes with, and the sofas we sit on – teach us about a climate-just use of fibres for the future? Sourcing, dyeing, spinning, and weaving natural and synthetic fibres is one of the oldest industries in the Netherlands. In every period and on every scale, the production of textiles has had a major socio-ecological impact, both visible and invisible; from Tilburg’s cloth manufacturers depending on the nearby Kempen heath sheep, and garancine (red dye from madder) factories polluting the rivers in 19th-century Zeeland, to relying on low-income home weavers and cheap factory workers. With sites of production now largely moved to other parts of the world, the consumption of textiles in the EU is one of the leading pressures on water and land use, on raw materials, and on greenhouse emissions worldwide. The need for just fibres at local and global scales is pressing. Possible solutions put forward by the European Environment Agency echo pre-industrial textile practices, such as moving towards local circular economies through prolonged use of more durable textiles (“slow fashion”) and manufacturing on small and local scales, structurally including reuse, repair, and recycling. But while things happened on smaller scales in the past, they were not always “just” either.

In this PhD project, you will combine research into textile heritage and historical making practices of everyday textiles – e.g., historical dyeing recipes, textile tools (e.g., spinning wheel, loom, industrial machinery), mending practices, fibre sources, and practices of recycling and reuse this PhD project studies how historical textile practices may generate new perspectives on the climate-just use of fibres.

PhD 2: Material Engagement with Common Ceramics

Like textiles, ceramic materials–clay, bricks, tiles, glass, and cement–are a bedrock of everyday living. The Netherlands still counts a substantial number of industrial ceramic factories (today more than 40, but hundreds in the past) in the eastern and southern part of the country, located alongside the major rivers (e.g. the Rhine and Meuse), where clay is sourced. However much we rely on ceramic materials, the (surface) mining and working of soils required to make them, impacts natural and social systems due to material extraction, waste handling, and most notably CO2 emissions. The high temperatures required for firing, melting, and drying ceramic materials, makes it one of the highest energy consuming industries in the Netherlands and in the world. As ceramic materials are traditionally associated with durability, with firing ensuring their stability, ceramics are typically considered a fire art.

This PhD project considers what happens when we seek new forms of ceramic durability through both historical and recent production processes. You will explore, for instance, what climate-just harvesting and processing of soils may look like in ceramics, and study historical and global examples of the production of ceramic materials, with a particular focus on heatless production processes (e.g., historical traditions of cold-glazing tableware with milk; glass decorated with oil paint; cold-baked bricks in Malawi; and ceramics produced by microbes, i.e., biomineralization).

You will:

• do research within one of the two themes stated above;
• present findings in an academic, artistic, and societal context (e.g. conferences, exhibitions, workshops, community gatherings);
• publish at least one peer-reviewed article or book chapter and contribute to other writing projects as required (including the JUST ART website);
• closely collaborate with the other project members of the Just Art Theme “JUST MATTER: Material Engagement for Climate Justice” based at the Utrecht University and Avans University for Applied Sciences, particularly the Centre for Applied Research in Art, Design and Technology (CARADT);
• teach during the 2nd, and 3rd year;
• actively contribute to the JUST ART Consortium community through participation in and organization of workshops with project partners, and participate in the JUST ART School’s writing retreats and other activities;
• actively engage with societal partners, e.g. organise collaborative knowledge exchange as well as educational and dissemination activities.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the collaborative nature of the project, regular physical presence is expected.

We are seeking two highly motivated PhD students who have a Master’s degree in (Technical) Art History, History of Knowledge, Science and Technology Studies, or another relevant discipline, and a demonstrable affinity with the project. We will also consider applicants with an alternative qualification (e.g., MA from an art school) if this is sufficiently supported by appropriate academic research experience and an artistic portfolio.

Who are you?

• You have a Master's degree in one of the above-mentioned fields, and a demonstrable affinity with the project.
• You have excellent research skills.
• You have excellent writing and speaking skills in English and preferably also in Dutch (or are willing to learn), as the project requires active engagement with societal partners.
• You can demonstrate experience with historical making and hands-on experimentation with historical techniques, either through academic research or an established artistic practice. In the latter case, preferably through a degree at an art academy or conservatory (alternatively through exhibitions, prizes, publications, etc).
• You bring experience with, or have the capacity and willingness to be part of participatory (art) projects and artistic research.
• You can work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and intercultural research environment, including fieldwork.
• You are enthusiastic about communicating research to academic and non-academic audiences.

• a position (1.0 FTE) for 18 months, with an extension to a total of four year upon a successfull assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.059 and €3.881 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 also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. 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.

The faculty strives for diversity among its employees and students and is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, as can be read in Utrecht University's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy.

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For more information about this position, please contact Marjolijn Bol at m.a.h.bol@uu.nl

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.