PhD position DC, “EUTERPE: European Literatures and Gender in Transnational Perspective” HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN.01 (1,0 FTE)

HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN.01 EUTERPE: European Literatures and Gender in Transnational Perspective project is looking for eleven Doctoral Candidates to participate in the project. Currently one position is open with Utrecht University for DC to do research and write a thesis on “Moving perspectives: the role of transnational literary intellectuals in shaping public debate around European belonging” (WP 5).

The aim of “EUTERPE: European Literatures and Gender in Transnational Perspective” is to offer an innovative approach to rethinking European cultural production in the light of complex social and political negotiations that are shaping European spaces and identities at present. EUTERPE intends to do that by bringing together gender and transnational perspectives within an interdisciplinary approach to literary and cultural studies. EUTERPE proposes to train and supervise 11 DCs in interdisciplinary, transnational, gender focused literary studies.

The EUTERPE project will recruit, employ and provide advanced training for 11 Doctoral Candidates who will research European Literatures and Gender in Transnational Perspective across four main areas that form the core of our eight research and training Work Packages, and are focused as follows:

1. Transnational women’s literature and its travels: points of entry and pathways (WP 1, WP2);
2. Translational genres: crossing borders in gender, form, space, and identity (WP 3, WP4, WP 10);
3. Transnational women intellectuals, multilingualism and decolonising European pedagogies (WP 5, WP6, WP 11);
4. Transnational literature and cultural production: intermediality as a form of translation (WP7, WP8). Major impact objectives of the project will be to produce 11 PhD theses; an open source Dictionary of Transnational Women’s Literature in Europe with key concepts and bio-bibliographic entries on leading representatives of the field; and a Digital Catalogue and Podcast Library, which will make accessible all relevant material collected during the creation of the Dictionary.

As a part of their research training, all EUTERPE DCs will have the following duties:

• Enroll as PhD students in respective PhD programs with the university, which is recruiting them; fulfill all the requirements of the program and work towards the completion of their PhD thesis within the deadline set by the university;
• spend a compulsory secondment period of 6 months at the University of Coventry (UK) during the second year of their tenure. During this period they will receive further research training and will conduct comparative research;
• undertake two months of guided internship with an EUTERPE Associate Partner that works on a field relevant to the Doctoral Candidate's expertise;
• work closely with their employability mentor in the development of a bespoke Employability Enhancement Plan;
• attend the project-wide training events, which includes 4 weeklong education events in the form of summer and spring schools;
• participate in the creation of the Dictionary of Transnational Women’s Literature in Europe, an open-source publication by CEU Press by researching material for the Dictionary and contribute to writing the entries;
• collectively with the other Doctoral Candidates participate in the EUTERPE Transnational Literary Research Laboratory creating the content of the Dictionary/Catalogue/Podcast Library following the Doctoral Candidate’s chosen track of contribution;
• participate in the EUTERPE Final conference and promotion of the Dictionary of Transnational Women’s Literature in Europe, the Digital Catalogue and Podcast Library in Vienna in the fall of 2026;
• contribute to the final project report in the summer of 2026.

Requirements of PhD-project at Utrecht University:

EUTERPE project looks for candidates who can demonstrate expertise both in literary and in gender studies, with particular interest in contemporary European literatures. The UU-PhD-project will investigate the contribution of women-identified, transnational intellectuals and writers into shaping public reception and debate around European belonging and identification. The project focuses on transnational literature as multilingual literature informed by migrant and postcolonial experience. Through this lens, using literary methodology (reception analysis, discourse analysis, archival research methods, combinations of close and distant reading, comparative analysis) and drawing on feminist theory, intellectual history, postcolonial studies, migration literature, media studies and/or critical theory, the project will cartograph the diverse literary production by established, but especially also minor transnational European writers based in the Netherlands, the UK and Italy. The project aims to analyse how these works contribute to public debate, and how they operate across national borders, gender identities and languages in these three different contexts, specifically through media and public platforms (festivals, prizes, publishing industry). The project seeks to combine prominent and minor literary figures to assess the diversity of gendered transnational voices, asking how these voices challenge geographical and temporal methodological nationalism and create a transnational and translocal sense of European belonging.

Admission to the program is open to applicants who hold a 2nd Level Master Degree (120 ECTS + 180 ECTS in a bachelor degree) or a Single Cycle Degree (minimum 300 ECTS), or a comparable university degree (Second Cycle qualification), as required by the partner universities for admission to doctoral studies. Applicants are expected to achieve their degree within November 28th, 2022. They shall submit a certified copy of any degree achieved by the deadline of January 31st, 2023.

Degree(s) earned in the fields of Literary Studies, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies or comparative field of study.

English language proficiency at the level required by the partner university where the Doctoral Candidate is posted.

MSCA DN Requirements:
Applicants should not yet have been awarded a doctorate. They must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before their recruitment date. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account. More detailed explanation of these eligibility conditions. 
Furthermore, the ideal candidate has a background and proven interest in transnational literary studies and gender studies. In addition,

• You are interested in international collaboration and willing to attend all EUTERPE training schools.
• You have a completed master’s degree in a relevant field.
• You have good interpersonal skills, and you have good written and oral communication skills.
• You preferably have knowledge of Dutch and Italian.
• You are dedicated to completing the PhD research, as well as the contributions to the other network deliverables (dictionary etc.), within the allotted time of four years.

This is an appointment of 1,0 fte for the duration of 18 months. starting April 1, 2023, with the possibility of extension for a further maximum of 30 months after positive evaluation in the first year.
The gross salary starts with € 2,541 per month in the first year and increases to € 3,247 per month in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities) for a full-time employment.

Besides that, you will receive a holiday allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. Utrecht University also has an appealing package of terms of employment, including the choice for a good balance between work and private (a good arrangement for leave, among other things), possibilities for development and an excellent pension scheme. For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

The PhD-project at Utrecht University runs for a total of 48 months.

Living allowance consists of the gross salary per month according to the salary scale P of the CAO NU:

1st year €2,541
2nd year €2,960
3rd year €3,098
4th year €3,247

The cost of the 9 EU funded Doctoral Candidates’ PhD educational activities, as well as all expenses related to travels performed to attend schools, workshops, and network-organized events, will be planned and sustained by the network through the HORIZON EUROPE MSCA-DOCTORAL NETWORK grant (Institutional Costs). 2 DCs are funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Research Grant, Other JeS Guarantee Calls “European Literatures and Gender from a Transnational Perspective (EUTERPE)”, Grant Ref: EP/X02556X/1.

The DCs will be provided with facilities necessary for their research.

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