PhD position Visual Gendered Disinformation (1.0 FTE)

Department

Faculty of Arts

Organisation

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, University of Groningen, V25.0205

Job description

Fully funded PhD position with the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen, in the project “Visual Gendered Disinformation”.

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an internationally recognized research centre and gain valuable research experience at a top-ranked European university. As a PhD candidate, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the supervisory team. You will conduct independent and original academic research and report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD dissertation. The PhD thesis is to be completed within four years. You are also requested to teach.

You will work with the following supervisory team:

- Dr. Marília Gehrke (co-promoter)
- Dr. Eedan Amit-Danhi (co-promoter)
- Dr. Scott Eldridge (promoter)

The PhD Project
This PhD project investigates disinformation at the intersections of gender, visual communication, and political discourse. It studies how women politicians’ intersectional identities are targeted in false and misleading content. As generative AI tools are becoming more accessible and often materialize as deepfakes, disinformation campaigns’ visual and multimodal aspects pose new challenges for political representation and democratic discourse. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining political communication and media studies with a focus on gender and visual disinformation, this PhD project will examine the distinguishing features of gendered multimodal disinformation, its perception by audiences, and its impact on women in the political sphere targeted by it.

Methodologically, research in this project employs qualitative methods, incorporating a systematic literature review, multimodal discourse analysis, media diaries, focus groups, and in-depth interviews with women who have been targeted by disinformation campaigns. This comprehensive approach contributes to a better understanding of how disinformation campaigns target women in the political context, potentially discouraging them from pursuing public careers. This is a particular concern given that women are underrepresented in prominent political positions, holding head-of-state positions in only 23% of countries. When they do reach these positions of power, women politicians are often subject to backlash when they do not meet gender-stereotypical expectations.

You will be asked to

- Develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisors.
- Conduct independent and original academic research.
- Report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD dissertation.
- Conduct a total of 0.4 FTE teaching spread over the second, third, and fourth years of your appointment.
- Complete the PhD in the specified timeframe, namely four years.
- Contribute to scientific and public engagement.

Note: This call does not specify the geographical scope of this PhD project; options include data collection related to Latin America, the United States/Canada, Central/Northern Europe, or the Levant. The final focus of empirical work will be decided based on the expertise and interest of the PhD candidate in consultation with the supervisory team. Consider this when preparing your research proposal (for further guidance, see the section “Application”).

Organisation
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 34,000 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, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies.

Requirements

- A Research Master’s (ReMa) or Master’s degree with a research component (including thesis) in Media Studies or related areas such as Journalism Studies, Communications, or Political Science with high academic merit—an average grade of 8.0 or above on the Dutch scale (or international equivalent) is preferred.
- Demonstrable methodological and analytical skills and the capacity to develop and conduct innovative research.
- A clear and well-articulated motivation for pursuing PhD research.
- High level of spoken command of English and academic writing skills (i.e., the equivalent of 7.0 IELTS overall; see ‘Application’ below).
- Knowledge of the language and culture of the proposed geographic area-of-focus for the case studies and willingness to pursue further language and cultural training if needed.
- A clear research interest in the topic of the project (e.g., is intrinsically motivated to pursue critical feminist research in the digital world or to confront disinformation through Gen-AI).
- Having experience with and/or knowledge in the proposed project area (ideally at master's level) is an asset.
- Great interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team.

Knowledge of Dutch is NOT required.

Conditions of employment

Contract length: 48 months.

In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you

- A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross 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.
- A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six 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 PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 FTE teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of their appointment.
- Excellent work-life balance.
- Willingness to move to and reside in the Netherlands.

The appointment will commence on 1 September 2025. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.

Job Application

Applications should be made in English and contain the following materials - A short statement (c. 1,000 words) explaining your motivation for applying and how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the position according to the criteria above. - An outline of max 1,500 words (excluding reference list) of your own research proposal, demonstrating how it fits within the wider framework of this project. The applicant is encouraged to address the challenges posed by (generative) AI to gendered disinformation and must clearly state the geographical context (see suggested regions above) of the intended research, including the rationale for this choice. This outline should contain a) an Introduction with research question(s), b) a theoretical background, and c) a proposed methodological approach for data collection and analysis. - A curriculum vitae no longer than three pages, including contact details of two academic referees. (No letters of recommendation are needed for the application process.) - Copies of MA diploma and list of grades. - Copy of MA thesis. A language certificate is required if the thesis is not written in English. According to the Graduate School of the Humanities (GSH) regulations, the minimum overall score is 7.0 and 6.5 for specific sections (IELTS). See further information (e.g., TOEFL) on this webpage. If the MA thesis is unavailable, the applicant should clarify why this is the case and attach a different writing sample (e.g., a copy of an article, book chapter, or other academic text that you feel best represents your work). Note: Certificates and transcripts must be available in English. The candidate must submit a sworn translation if these documents were issued in non-English-speaking countries. Please send in your application as two PDF files (one for the MA thesis, and one for all other documents). You may apply for this position until 30 April 11:59pm / before 1 May 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website). Candidates will be notified by 7 May 2025, with interviews held on 12 May 2025. 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/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/ Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: 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.

Additional information

For additional information, please contact:

Dr. Marília Gehrke
[email protected]

Dr. Eedan Amit-Danhi
[email protected]

Maarten Schmaal, for questions regarding the submission procedure
[email protected]

In your application, please always include the job opening ID V25.0205

Digital application form