Postdoctoral Researcher (FTE)

Job Detail

Job-ID 329900

Job-Beschreibung

Postdoctoral Researcher (FTE)100%, 01.04.2025The University of Basel, Switzerland, invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher (100% FTE) for the project Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA)The function of a blank sheet of A4 paper in a context of censorship reflects the need to recognize new forms of defiance. As speech is being monitored through different technologies and in a range of arenas from the public square to social media and across university campuses, defiance takes new forms of symbolic critique. In the project ?Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA)», recognizing defiance contributes to the aim of conceptualizing aspirational urbanism as a way of understanding the function of alterity (alternative futures, speculative possibilities) in shaping cities. Rather than explaining urban change in Hong Kong and Taipei exclusively in terms of tiger economics or the developmentalist state, beyond techno-positivism and growth machine dogmas, ASPIRA recognizes defiance as the agency of urban residents in contesting perceived inevitabilities. The project builds on theoretical work on urban futures, understanding cities as sites for planning, imagining and representing futures. It also recognizes the unequal capacities and risks involved, highlighting the ?cruel» ascriptions to optimism and the potentially devastating consequences of aspiration. ASPIRA’s approach identifying defiance by centering on visual analysis grounds aspirational urbanism, rescaling the object of urban theory towards everyday micro-practices.Your position

Work as full-time postdoctoral researcher for the Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grant project Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA), led by Prof. Dr. Julie Ren
Collaborate and conduct research within team (with PI and PhD) and independently

Includes outreach, source mapping, developing methods, field research in Hong Kong and Taipei, analysis of materials (coding/CDA)

Present research at international conferences; co-organize project symposia and final exhibition
Co-author and single author peer-reviewed publications

Your profile

PhD with an urban studies focus in urban or cultural geography/ anthropology/ sociology, media studies, gender studies or a related field
Regional expertise conducting research in Hong Kong and/or Taipei
Qualitative research experience employing archival, visual, digital and/or creative methods
Strong analytical skills and record of high-quality publication output
Languages: Fluency in both spoken and written Mandarin and English (ideally also Cantonese)

We offer you

4-year 100% postdoctoral researcher position with Swiss salary to begin on 1 April 2025, hosted by the Urban Studies unit in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland
Research travel and conference budget
If desired, teaching and lecturing experience
Collaborative, small team committed to your career development with a healthy work-life balance
Fully equipped workplace in the center of Basel near the university campus