Applicants are invited for a 3 year PhD position within the project “Language culture in Limburg”. The project is funded by NWO.
Reference number: AT2016.109

Research project

“Linguistic inequality within VMBO classes in a Dutch peripheral area (province of Limburg)”

Job description

The proposed project will examine how linguistic inequality, normativity and voice in Limburg is reproduced within VMBO classes. Since it is believed that pupils speaking dialects or other languages as Moroccan Arabic, Berber and Turkish fail to meet the standard Dutch norm, these pupils are imagined as ‘uneducated’, ‘not intelligent’ or ‘marginal’. This project is important for an area as Limburg where popular beliefs at the national level obviously affect the educational field. The focus will be on VMBO classes that have a far from positive image and where considerable linguistic diversity exists as a direct result of globalization-induced migration and the persistence of the local dialects. The project will investigate pupils’ spoken and informal written language with the aim to examine how globalization affects classroom realities. The aim of the project is to provide a more informed and nuanced view on the language proficiency of VMBO monolingual, bi dialectal and bilingual pupils in Limburg.

Requirements

A sociolinguist, linguistic/cultural anthropologist or linguist with an MSc degree and with affinity for conducting classroom ethnographies.

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,000 students and 4,000 employees. Reflecting the university’s strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) has about 250 staff members, and over 1,800 students. More than 75% of the students are non-Dutch (almost 100 different nationalities). All programmes are offered in English and some are also offered in Dutch. FASoS offers two 3-year Bachelor’s programmes: Arts and Culture and European Studies. It also offers six different 1-year Master’s programmes and two 2-year research Master’s programmes.

Its Graduate School takes in around 10 PhD students each year. Research is organised around four programmes: Politics and Culture in Europe; Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society Studies; Arts, Media and Culture; and Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is housed in several recently renovated 18th-century buildings in the historic city centre of Maastricht.

Graduate School

Our Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences offers the opportunity to pursue a PhD in the interdisciplinary field of arts and social sciences. You receive a coherent program of introductory courses, intensive supervision and frequent discussion with the senior researchers inside and outside the Faculty. The Programme can be characterized by its international and interdisciplinary nature and the emphasis on cultural and societal issues of the modern world.

The School focuses on four themes:
1. Politics and Culture in Europe.
2. Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society Studies.
3. Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development.
4. Arts, Media and Culture.

Further information on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and its Graduate School may be accessed on: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fasos

What we have to offer

We offer a dynamic and challenging job in an internationally-oriented organisation where young people receive an advanced education and scholars conduct exciting research. The PhD candidate will have the unique opportunity to carry out research within one or more of the four themes within the research programme and contribute to the development and outreach of the NWO project “Language culture in Limburg”. She / he will be part of an international network of top universities and renowned scholars within the field.

We offer a 3 year full-time appointment as PhD student.
The first year will be a probation period, after a positive assessment the position will be extended with another 2 years.
Your workload will be the normal workload for the position of PhD students.

Remuneration will be according to standard salary levels for PhD students starting with a salary of € 2.174,- with a yearly growth to € 2.779- gross a month (based on a full-time appointment.)

Each year the standard salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

You have to be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht. If you do not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you will be eligible for an allowance for moving costs. If you do not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you might be eligible for an allowance for alternative housing.
Other secondary conditions include e.g. a pension scheme and partially paid parental leave.

You will be provided with shared office space and a PC.

Maastricht University’s Terms of Employment are laid down in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local university provisions apply as well. For more information please see the website: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl / employees / A-Z.

Starting date: preferably 1 November 2016

Information

Further information on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is available on our website: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fasos

Any inquiries about the position or the project may be addressed to:
Prof. L. Cornips (leonie.cornips@maastrichtuniversity.nl)

Application

Interested candidates are invited to supply us with:

1. A letter of motivation stating the candidate’s qualifications and reasons for interest in the position.
2. Their CV.
3. A grade transcript of previous education at Master level.
4. A research proposal of max. 5 pages, outlining a proposed direction and methodology for the project (based on the short description).
5. the contact information of two references (including e-mail; phone number, mailing address, and relationship to the applicant).

The deadline for submitting your application is 1 September 2016

Please send your application electronically to the Secretariat of the Faculty Office: Pzfdcwvacatures@maastrichtuniversity.nl