[Commlist] Fully Funded PhD Position: “Beauty and Film Theory” (4 years)

*PhD Position: Beauty in Film Theory,*
*University of Groningen (1.0 FTE) (V23.0533)*

*Job description*

We are offering a 48-month PhD position (full time, 1.0 FTE) within the 
project ‘Cinematic Beauty: Exploring the Experience of a Major Aesthetic 
Phenomenon’, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in a five-year 
Open Competition M grant (Principal Investigator: Dr. Julian Hanich, 
University of Groningen). The appointed candidate will have an expertise 
in questions of (film) aesthetics and film and media theory.

The overall project (henceforth: CinematicBeauty) aims to shed light on 
the pleasurable affective response that audiences experience when they 
consider a film beautiful. Since the beginning of cinema, movie-goers 
have encountered beauty in film’s many forms and genres. But 
astonishingly, scholars of film have never studied cinematic beauty in a 
systematic way. In addition to the Principal Investigator and the PhD 
position advertised in this vacancy, the CinematicBeauty team also 
features a postdoc researcher with a background in phenomenological 
interview techniques (12 months, 2024). Thus, the PhD will play a major 
role in one of CinematicBeauty’s three sub-projects.

The PhD project itself aims to investigate the variegated role of beauty 
in film theory. For that, it will be useful to look for discourses on 
the experience of cinematic beauty and their role in the history of film 
theory. The PhD student is invited to follow the traces of what film 
scholars, critics, and filmmakers have said about cinematic beauty and 
the experiences it engenders. Here the project may also have to reckon 
with the displacement of the term “beauty” as much of the writing on the 
experience of cinematic beauty did not dare to speak its name but was 
couched in different terms. Moreover, the PhD project aims to explore 
what was experienced as beautiful and how this manifested itself in 
normative debates on what should be considered cinematic beauty. And 
last but not least, the PhD student may seek answers to the question why 
beauty has been neglected in critical writings on film since the 1930s: 
if one key appeal of the cinema has been its ability to foreground 
beauty in our world, why did beauty turn into the bad object of critical 
discourse?

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an international 
research environment as well as to acquire valuable teaching experience: 
The PhD student may teach up to 0.1 FTE on a yearly basis in the second, 
third and fourth year.

Tasks and responsibilities include:

  * carrying out the sub-project described above by writing a
    dissertation under the supervision of the Principal Investigator
  * contributing to the successful advancement of the CinematicBeauty
    project as a whole, and to the spirit of interdisciplinary exchange
    characterizing the project
  * presenting research results at workshops and conferences, and
    (potentially) publishing academic articles
  * engaging in public outreach and knowledge utilization activities
    related to the project
  * participating in regular meetings with the other project team
    members, and assisting the Principal Investigator in communication,
    organization and editing tasks (e.g. co-organizing a conference,
    co-editing an academic volume)
  * conducting a maximum of 0.3 fte teaching during the second, third
    and fourth year of their appointment (0.1 fte yearly).

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has 
established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative 
university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 36,000 
students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through 
challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an 
international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research 
universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner 
universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city 
of Groningen. It has more than 5000 students and 700 staff members, who 
are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers 
a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 
Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely 
acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International 
Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Art History, Linguistics, and 
Media and Journalism Studies.

*Qualifications*

  * a (research) MA degree in Film Studies, Cinema Studies, Media
    Studies, Philosophical Aesthetics or another related discipline.
    Candidates who expect to obtain their degree before 1 January 2024
    are also eligible, and may be offered a position conditional upon
    successful completion of the Master’s degree
  * a strong interest in questions of (film) aesthetics, film history as
    well as film and media theory
  * excellent research skills (as shown, for instance, by the
    candidate’s MA thesis or published articles)
  * excellent proficiencies in English (and preferably command over one
    or two other major languages)
  * a strong interest in collaborative research and interdisciplinary
    dialogue
  * enthusiasm for communicating academic research to non-academic
    audiences.

*Organisation*

*Conditions of employment*

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for 
Dutch Universities (CAO NU):

  * A salary of €2.541,-per month in the first year, up to a maximum of
    €3.247,- per month in the final year, based on a full-time position
  * a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
  * an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance.

This 1.0 FTE appointment is temporary, for a specified period of four 
years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After 
twelve months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results 
and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether 
employment will be continued. The prospective starting date is 1 January 
2024.

You will be enrolled in the Graduate School for the Humanities (GSH) of 
the Faculty of Arts at the University of Groningen. The GSH offers the 
organizational infrastructure within which PhD candidates participate in 
advanced training and supervised research: 
https://www.rug.nl/(...)adschool-humanities/ 
<https://www.rug.nl/research/gradschool-humanities/>

You will be carrying out your research in the context of the Groningen 
Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG).

*Application*

You may apply for this position until Thursday, 31 August 2023, 23:59 
Dutch local time / before Friday, 1 September 2023 by means of the 
application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement on the 
university website)

Applications should include:

1. A letter of motivation (no longer than two pages), explaining why you 
are a suitable candidate for this PhD position;

2. A curriculum vitae demonstrating your academic excellence, including 
a list of publications and presentations (if applicable);

3. A proof of writing, such as an academic paper or a chapter from your 
MA thesis;

4. Certified copies of your BA and MA degrees (in case of an on-going MA 
degree, please include a letter from your thesis supervisor, certifying 
that the degree will be obtained before 1 January 2024);

5. A transcript of the grades during the MA degree;

6. Contact information of two academic referees who are familiar with 
your work, and whom we may contact directly if we need more information.

Applications have to be submitted electronically in PDF format by means 
of the application form (please merge all documents into one PDF file, 
in the order in which they are listed above and upload this files as the 
‘letter of motivation’). Applications that are incomplete or are 
otherwise faulty will not be taken into account.

The selection interviews will take place in the second half of 
September, and the candidates will be informed as soon as possible 
thereafter.

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students 
and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in 
background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that 
working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint 
responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially 
safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches 
academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and 
research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in 
particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy 
webpage: https://www.rug.nl/(...)rsity-and-inclusion/ 
<https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/>

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code 
(NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode 
<https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode>and European 
Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: 
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code 
<https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code>

We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to 
Groningen.

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

*Information*

For information you can contact:

  * Dr Julian Hanich, Associate Professor of Film Studies,
    (j.hanich /at/ rug.nl) <mailto:(j.hanich /at/ rug.nl)>
  * Lisanne Coolen, For questions regarding the application procedure,
    (l.coolen /at/ rug.nl) <mailto:(l.coolen /at/ rug.nl)>

Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.

Apply 
<https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/work-with-us/job-opportunities/?reply=00347-02S000AANP&cat=wp>

https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/work-with-us/job-opportunities/?details=00347-02S000AANP&cat=wp 



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