Job: PhD position 'Imagining the North' at University of Groningen
We are inviting applications for a fully funded PhD position on the project "Imagining the North. Media-related heritage and place-making practices in the Northern Netherlands" at the University of Groningen. The project can be adapted to the profile of the candidate, for example to focus on (popular) music.
More information is available here, it concerns project 2.
The deadline for applications is 10 March 2024.
Scholarship opportunities
We are looking for talented students who wish to design their own PhD research project on an interdisciplinary topic within the scope of the research expertise of Young Academy Groningen members (please visit http://www.rug.nl/research/young-academy). Two PhD positions are available to conduct research within the project theme of project 1 and project 2 listed below. As a PhD student, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisor(s). You will conduct independent and original academic research and report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD thesis. The PhD thesis has to be completed within four years. Being part of a cutting-edge research programme, you will receive research training as well as a varied educational training program including transferable skills and future (academic or non-academic) career training for after the PhD trajectory, in the context of our Career Perspective Series.
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Project 2. Project title: Imagining the North. Media-related heritage and place-making practices in the Northern Netherlands
Supervisors:
Dr Leonieke Bolderman (YAG, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Assistant Professor in Cultural Geography)
Dr Deborah Castro (Faculty of Arts, Assistant Professor Media Studies)
Prof. Tialda Haartsen (Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Professor of Rural Geography)
Project description:
Books, films, and music have all put the Northern Netherlands on the map. Ralf Poelman’s ‘Het Gras van het Noorderplantsoen’ is an iconic song for stadjers, while Friesland is represented in ‘de Kameleon’ books and movies. Drenthe was recently promoted through its link with Van Gogh, while the festival Oerol has put Terschelling firmly on the map for many people living in the Netherlands and beyond. Media-related heritage, where narratives from media such as film, literature and music become entwined with tangible and intangible cultural heritage, has the potential to attract tourists, while also constructing place identities and shaping local communities’ senses of place.
Yet, tensions can arise between the different actors involved. For instance, in recent years several festivals have been cancelled after local inhabitants expressed their concerns about the environmental impacts, while a recent documentary revealed the protest and local unrest surrounding the twelve Frysian fountains created for the European Capital of Culture program. What these examples show is that in spite of a growing attention for the role of media in place-making, little is known about the mechanisms through which media narratives contribute to local identities and sense of place, and what processes cause friction. That is why this PhD project centers around the question: how is the Northern Netherlands imagined in media-related heritage, and how does this heritage contribute to local place making practices?
With this question, this PhD project seeks to meet the following three key objectives: (1) to map the media-related heritage currently present in the Northern Netherlands and the images of the North that this heritage puts forward, (2) to analyze the way this heritage is embedded in local structures of governance and promotion and (3) to examine how this type of heritage contributes to, shapes and challenges local place-based identities and senses of place.
Qualifications project 2:
The ideal candidate would need to have several if not all of the following qualities:
a Master’s degree (MA/MSc) in one of the disciplines that form the backbone of the project (i.e. either in cultural/human geography, media studies, cultural studies, or other relevant social science), with a keen interest in the key disciplines
a clear research interest in the topic of the project (i.e. is intrinsically motivated). Having experience with and/or intimate knowledge of the cultural field in the Northern Netherlands is an asset
is experienced in using various methods of qualitative research, such as interviewing and participant observation
has a demonstrable interest in and experience with interdisciplinary research, and is capable of navigating their own project within an interdisciplinary team setting
a demonstrably excellent written and spoken command of English (written and spoken command of Dutch is a definite asset).