Utrecht University in the Netherlands invites applications for 2 Postdocs ‘Sacralizing Security: Religion, Violence and Authority in Mega-Cities of the Global South in 2019.
They seek to appoint 2 Postdoc candidates who will investigate the role of religious vigilante organizations. Both Postdocs will be part of the ERC Consolidator project: Sacralizing Security: Religion, Violence and Authority in Mega-Cities of the Global South (SACRASEC). In mega-cities of the Global South, state agencies often lack the capacity to provide infrastructure and security to all citizens. In such contexts, religious organizations and non-state security actors (vigilantes) have merged into alternative governance organizations. The emergence of religious vigilantes suggests a different connection between religion and violence than emphasized in current research on religious fundamentalism and terrorism. While religious vigilantes use violence systematically, they generally do not aim to overthrow the state, nor do they seek a global audience to witness their violence. They operate side-by-side with state actors to maintain order. SACRASEC will analyze the production of the authority of religious vigilantes in mega-cities of the Global South through an ethnographic comparison of groups in three mega-cities: Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta and Lagos. We seek to appoint Postdocs that will focus on specific case-studies that have been designed for the project:
- Postdoc 1: Jakarta, Indonesia. Focus on religious preman.
- Postdoc 2: Lagos, Nigeria. Focus on Pentecostal or Islamic vigilantes.
Candidates should indicate for which case study they wish to apply specifically and explain in a research statement why.
The project will draw on the methods of participant observation, ethnographic interviews, urban ethnography, content analysis, and sensory ethnography. It will also engage with the recent turn to materiality within religious studies, cultural anthropology and security studies. This project will be embedded in the Department of Cultural Anthropology’s research program Sovereignty and Social Contestation in Complex Societies (SoSCo), and the candidate will be supervised by Dr. Martijn Oosterbaan (PI of SACRASEC).
Job tasks/responsibilities
- Conducting the research (literature research, ethnographic data collection and analysis, reporting the results), resulting in international scientific publications.
- Assist in data collection and collective analysis.
- Assist in the training of the PhDs.
- To present results at national and international scientific conferences.
- Active participation in the research group of the project and of the Department.
- Ambition to collaborate with (inter)national partners.
Worth of Award
- The gross salary – depending on previous qualifications and experience – ranges between €3,637 and €4,978 (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for full-time employment.
- Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model).
Eligibility
They are looking for someone who:
- holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology or a related field, preferably with a specialization in the anthropology of conflict and security and/or anthropology of religion;
- preferably has affinity with the case study she or he wishes to apply for (regional expertise, language skills, previous research in the city);
- has good social skills;
- is effective and efficient, and able to think conceptually;
- is able to meet deadlines, and conduct research independently and as part of a team;
- has good communication skills (written and oral) in English.
How to Apply
Applications should include:
- a research statement (about 1000 words), explaining why you are interested in the project and how you meet the requirements;
- a cv with publication list;
- contact information of two references;
- if you have no publications, please also include a sample of your own academic writing, such as a PhD thesis.
Deadline: The application deadline is October 5, 2019.