Postdoc on queer of colour movement intellectuals in the Netherlands and the UK

With this Postdoc you will join the NWO Vidi project Fabulous Subjects: Queer Intellectuals and their Archives, participating actively in the intellectual life of a research group and contributing to an innovative study of queer organic intellectuals.

Your job
In this Postdoc position, you will study the work and archives of queer of colour intellectuals active in the Netherlands and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s. To do so, you will delve into both personal and movement archives, you will engage with existing theories of queer of colour cultural practices (e.g., Ferguson 2004; Muñoz 2009; Nyong’o 2018), and you will build on and contribute to a growing body of scholarship on queer of colour formations in Europe, especially in the Netherlands and the UK (e.g., Colpani and Isenia 2018; El-Tayeb 2011; Frank 2019, 2023; Kini 2020; Okundaye 2024).

Within this framework, you will focus on how queer of colour writers, artists, filmmakers, and other cultural workers – as “organic intellectuals” – helped establish links between the Dutch and British contexts, thus contributing to the emergence of a queer of colour movement and culture across European borders. At the same time, you will research how the contributions of these intellectuals have been recorded in both personal and movement (queer, Black, and queer of colour) archives.

This Postdoc is part of the larger NWO Vidi project Fabulous Subjects: Queer Intellectuals and their Archives, whose twofold goal is to develop a theory of the queer organic intellectual while identifying the specific features of queer intellectuals’ archives. The project focuses on the place of intellectuals in European queer and trans communities and movements from the 1970s to the present.

Your main duties and responsibilities include:

• developing an independent research plan based on the general framework of the Postdoc position, in alignment with the broader Vidi project;
• conducting high-quality empirical research (archival research and cultural analysis);
• contributing to the development of a theory of the queer intellectual in close collaboration with the research team (including the PI and the PhD);
• publishing in leading international peer-reviewed journals and contributing to a final edited volume;
• presenting research findings at international conferences and workshops;
• supporting the organization of academic events (e.g. a summer school);
• engaging in practices of public engagement and research dissemination in close collaboration with heritage institutions involved in the project;
• participating actively in the intellectual life of the research group, including seminars, reading groups, and collaborative writing processes.

The ideal candidate for this Postdoc position must have:

• a PhD degree in a relevant scientific discipline in the Humanities or Social Sciences, including but not limited to Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Literary Studies, or History;
• solid familiarity with queer theory and queer of colour critique;
• previous knowledge of the topic and experience of archival research and cultural analysis;
• an excellent command of English (additional knowledge of Dutch is an advantage);
• strong academic writing skills.

• a 0.8 FTE position for 24 months;
• a gross monthly salary between € 3,546 and € 5,538 in the case of full-time employment (38 hours per week), salary scale 10 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.

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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.

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Our department of Media and Culture Studies has a staff with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and views. As a department, we are committed to support our staff and their development and we foster various forms of interdisciplinary collaboration and team-based teaching and research. In our department, we study a wide range of media as well as cultural and artistic expressions, also in their intermedial relations. We interpret culture as a dynamic combination of artistic, creative, and everyday activities that people use to shape their identities, and within which social processes, structures and institutions are shaped. We welcome colleagues who can further strengthen the diversity of perspectives and backgrounds in our department.

For more information about this position, please contact Dr. Gianmaria Colpani at g.colpani@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.