PhD Position in Visual Sociology Contested Objects, Connected Histories
PhD Position in Visual Sociology Contested Objects, Connected Histories
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Job Description
The project Contested Objects Connected Histories traces Bunzlauer/Bolesławiec pottery a craft shaped by territorial transfer displacement and contested ownership. How can ceramics embody violence and loss yet be an anchor of belonging We seek an ambitious PhD candidate interested in combining social scientific rigor with the affective force of visual storytelling to explore ways of knowing difficult pasts and heritage.
Exploring craft memory and displacement through text and image
As PhD candidate in the project you will explore how ceramic-making relates to histories of violence and displacement while also fostering new forms of belonging and ownership. The project focuses on Bolesławiec pottery -- a craft taken over by resettled Poles when Germans were expelled from Silesia after 1945. Today internationally renowned the pottery remains entangled with memories of loss and appropriation political change and legal contest.
You will work closely with the principal investigator and a small research team including a research assistant and partner institutions in Poland and Germany. By bringing filming and editing skills to the project you will complement the PIs sociological expertise enabling a productive exchange between visual and social scientific approaches artistic and analytical sensibilities shaping a truly interdisciplinary research process. Together we will develop new ways of understanding that unite social scientific rigor with the affective language of visual storytelling.
You will produce a practice-based dissertation of 70.000 words. You will write academic articles and experiment with visual forms of knowledge: an essay-film and a contribution to mounting a public exhibition of the pottery using objects as well as film. You will build an academic and professional network among researchers artists and museum specialists.
A typical day may include filming a ceramist at work conducting an interview about the style and technique or analyzing how museum professionals present objects to the public emphasizing and re-articulating some aspects of their provenance and the historical context over others. The projects public-facing outputs offer you the unique opportunity to reach audiences inside and beyond academia and gain experience in curating and visual storytelling.
What are you going to do
- Take part in training activities colloquia and seminars offered by the Graduate School of Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam;
- Carry out ethnographic research in Poland and Germany including filming and interviewing ceramists and museum professionals. The research will be carried out under a close supervision of and in collaboration with the projects PI your supervisor. You will also have a co-supervisor from among visual anthropologists;
- Edit and analyze filmed material and develop it into an essay-film as part of the dissertation;
- Participate in teaching for an average of 10% of your working time;
- Produce a multimodal dissertation (70000 words or so) integrating textual and visual components;
- Collaborate with the PI research assistant and institutional partners in Poland and Germany publishing academic articles and presenting findings at international conferences;
- If desired you may also take part in a preparation of a museum exposition.
What do you have to offer
- You have a Masters degree preferably but not necessarily in the social sciences or humanities.
- You have skills in filmmaking including editing.
- You are fluent in Polish or German. Applicants without language skills must demonstrate a clear strategy for conducting a successful fieldwork with Polish- and German-speaking population.
- You are eager to combine sociological research with film and think creatively and critically about their relationship.
- You think deeply in search of theoretical concepts.
- You keep focus when juggling visual textual and analytical tasks.
- You collaborate well in a small team and contribute to collective outputs.
This position is in Sociology and successful completion of the PhD requires meeting the disciplinary standards of the social sciences. Therefore experience in social research and familiarity with social and political theory will be a strong advantage.
What else do we offer you
We offer temporary employment contract of 38 hours per week at the Department of Sociology for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year and will preferably start on 1 February 2026. Following a positive assessment this term will be extended by a maximum of three years which should result in the conferral of a doctorate.
For this position the University Job Classification profile Promovendus applies. Your salary will be 3059 gross per month in the first year and will increase to 3881 in the final year based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities.
We encourage you to shape your own academic trajectory by developing your own research and theoretical questions and conceptual tools by taking control of your work schedule and making contribution to the projects overall development. You will be supported by two academic supervisors (one of them is the projects PI) who will guide you through AISSR course selection prepare you for the fieldwork and review your output providing feedback. We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also have access to facilities for film production and editing at CameraWise (the Amsterdam Centre for Visual Anthropology).
In this team you will work
You will join the Cultural Sociology program group at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR). The group studies how people produce meaning create boundaries enact identities and negotiate power through objects rituals practices and symbols. This is a welcoming environment where curiosity is rewarded experimentation is encouraged and interdisciplinary work is celebrated. AISSR emphasizes methodological pluralism -- from ethnography and quantitative work to visual and sensory approaches --
The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences strives for and puts conscious efforts into having a work and academic environment that is inclusive. We commit to providing the grounds for equal treatment and empowering you to become a full participating member of our academic community regardless of your background race sexual orientation gender identity disability and/or age. We especially invite members from historically disadvantaged and under-represented groups to apply.
If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the position please submit your application as a single PDF including:
- A motivation letter (max 2 pages) explaining:
- Your interest in memory displacement craft or contested heritage and why you want to work on this project;
- How your background prepares you to complete a sociology PhD that combines visual and textual research;
- Your skills in filmmaking (including editing) and how you would apply them in research;
- Your knowledge of Polish and/or German or your strategy for conducting successful fieldwork without these languages;
- How you see yourself contributing to teamwork and collective outputs such as publications film and exhibition.
- A CV including details of your education research experience and any relevant creative work.
- One writing sample (e.g. an excerpt from your MA thesis published article an essay) and an example of creative or visual work.
You can apply via the red button until and no later than 1 December 2025. Interviews will take place in January 2026.
For questions about the vacancy you can contact:
Employment Type
Full Time
