PhD Position in the ERC Starting Grant project

The project:
ARTIVES aims to explore how imaginaries of urban diversity are portrayed by Afro-European authors in Lisbon and Rotterdam in their films, theatre plays, and (oral) literature. Close reading of creative forms of storytelling; interviews with artists; mobile ethnography; and digital mapping of spaces of inspiration, production, and performance will lay ground for the creation of the theoretical framework of ‘urban artives’. These conceptual artistic archives will be built in collaboration with intercultural artists to 1) trace the transnational network of belonging embodied in the local cultural scene and 2) test the possibilities and limitations in relating to these stories without reproducing essentializing binaries such as ‘local’ vs. ‘foreign’.

We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate who will conduct fieldwork research in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and study artistic practices and representations produced by the Angolan, Mozambican and Portuguese Afrodescendent artists with ties to these two African countries (2000-present).The PhD will study how the intercultural arts articulate multi-situated belonging, reproduce and/or challenge local patterns of community building as well as how local infrastructure and policy-making enhance and/or constrain mobility in artistic creativity.

Key Responsibilities

• You will complete a PhD thesis (in English) within four years;
• You will individually author and publish at least two articles in peer-reviewed journals;
• You will conduct research on diversity and belonging in contemporary artistic production by Lisbon-based artists with affective ties to Angola and Mozambique;
• You will interview relevant artists and conduct mobile ethnographic research in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area;
• You will collect spatial data to be fed into an interactive map of spaces of rehearsal/recording, performing, but also creative inspiration;
• You will collect data on the role of diversity in Lisbon’s cultural policy and branding;
• Data-management;
• You will present papers at conferences, in the Netherlands and Portugal, and possibly beyond;
• You will participate in the training programme of the LUCAS Institute, the Leiden Graduate School of Humanities, Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis, and other relevant masterclasses, summer schools, seminars, workshops, and events;
• You will participate in the PhD community and the intellectual life of the Institute;
• You will participate in the project’s regular meetings and contribute to the organization of the events and activities within the project, including the project’s Long Tables and seminars and an international conference at the end of year 4.

The organisation
The Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present. Our faculty is home to more than 6,000 students and 800 staff members. For more information see: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/humanities.

The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is one of the seven Academic Institutes of the Faculty of Humanities. The institute hosts a range of academic disciplines, clustered around a key research theme: the relationships between the arts and society. Our members study cultural production over the course of two millennia, from classical antiquity to our contemporary world, and teach in programmes ranging from Classics and Book History to Modern Literature, International Studies and Art History. Strengthened by our diversity, LUCAS members are uniquely placed to study the broad concept of the arts, with its rapidly changing ideas, aesthetics, and theories of cultural production. Through research, teaching and outreach, the Institute aims to deepen our understanding, both inside and outside academia, of the cognitive, historical, cultural, creative, and social aspects of human life.
As an academic community, we strive to create an open and welcoming atmosphere, stimulating everyone to get involved and contribute, and connecting scholars from different fields and backgrounds.

Terms and conditions
PhD project, 4 years (1.0 FTE, 38 hrs per week), starting date 1 February 2024. Initially the employee will receive a 14-month contract, with extension for the following 34 months on condition of a positive evaluation. The appointment must lead to the completion of a PhD thesis. Salary range from € 2,770 to € 3,539 gross per month for a fulltime appointment depending on prior education and working experience (pay scale for PhDs, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). There is a possibility to work part-time, i.e. 0.8 FTE for 5 years.
Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3%), training and career development. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. For more information: https://www.workingat.leiden.edu/.

Diversity & inclusion
Fostering an inclusive community is a central element of the values and vision of Leiden University. Leiden University is committed to becoming an inclusive community which enables all students and staff to feel valued and respected and to develop their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High quality teaching and research is inclusive.