Last application date Dec 01, 2024 00:00
Department LW07 - Department of Literary Studies
Contract Limited duration
Degree MA
Occupancy rate 100%
Vacancy type Research staff
Job description
YOUR JOB
- The Doctoral Fellow will be embedded in the English Section of the Department of Literary Studies. They will work with Prof. Andrew Bricker (executive supervisor), a scholar of English literature, satire, and humour, and Prof. Jeroen Vandaele (co-supervisor, a scholar working at the intersections of translation, ideology, and humour. The Doctoral Fellow will work on a specific doctoral project, leading to a dissertation, as part of “DELIAH: Democratic Literacy and Humour,” a multi-university research project funded by Horizon Europe (Call: HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-08), which will run from 1 March 2025 – 29 February 2029.
- The Doctoral Fellow’s PhD project within DELIAH will be “Analysing gender and stand-up comedy in the 21st-century Anglophone world, online and offline.”
- Description: This PhD project seeks to understand how women and non-cis-gendered comedic practitioners have created new venues for and new forms of stand-up comedy in the 21st-century Anglophone world and how they have, in the process, created new spaces, forms, and practices of democratic participation. The growth of niche spaces for comedy, both online (message boards, microblogs, YouTube channels) and offline (small-venue comedy clubs, improv groups), has created alternative spaces for cultural and democratic expression. These new spaces have also created new opportunities for humour produced by women and non-cis-gendered individuals, particularly in the exploration of new comedic affects beyond the aggressive energy of either traditional satire or male-dominated stand up, personal trauma, and formal experimentation.
- Tasks: Construct a bibliography of scholarship on stand-up comedy and database of women and non-cis-gendered comedic performers; select and analyze representative case studies and write up (academic) findings (a dissertation leading to a doctoral degree); and write a summary (public) report on research findings.
- The Doctoral Fellow will also be (in part) responsible for DELIAH’s website and social-media profiles; and will take an active part in DELIAH’s annual meetings (in Ghent in April 2025; in Tartu, Estonia in 2026; in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2027; and in Bilbao, Spain in 2028); and will contribute to the successful advancement of the DELIAH project as a whole and to the spirit of interdisciplinary exchange that characterizes the project.
- The Doctoral Fellow will also engage in some part-time teaching in English Literature and will take an active part in the life of the Department of Literary Studies and English Section, including volunteering for exam invigilation and evaluating BA and MA theses.
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- We offer a full-time position as a Doctoral Fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which, after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
- Your contract will start on 1 March 2025 at the earliest and will end on 29 February 2029 at the latest.
- The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by the Department of Personnel and Organization based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax: Click here for more information about our salary scales
- All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, a bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits.
- The Doctoral Fellow will also receive additional funds to support research and conference travel.
Job profile
- You hold a Master’s degree (or will hold an MA by 1 March 2025) in English Literature or a related field of expertise (e.g., Communication Studies, Comparative Literature, Cultural Analysis, Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, Discourse Studies, Media Studies, Translation Studies, etc. (these degrees are simply illustrative and placed in alphabetical order).
- You have a demonstrable interest in humor research.
- You have excellent research skills (as shown, for instance, by your MA thesis).
- You have excellent academic writing skills and oral skills in English.
- You have a strong interest in collaborative research and interdisciplinary dialogue.
- You are enthusiastic about communicating academic research to non-academic audiences.
How to apply
Send your CV, a copy of your university transcripts, a copy of your diploma (if already in your possession), a copy of your MA thesis (if available), and a cover letter (max. 2 pages), describing yourself and your interest in the project and the position, to Andrew.Bricker@UGent.be and JKM.Vandaele@UGent.be.
Please note in the subject line of the application and in all e-mails: “DELIAH gender and stand-up comedy.”
Applications are due by the end of the day on 1 December 2024. We will not accept late applications.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Andrew Bricker directly (Andrew.Bricker@UGent.be)
