Political speech and the sound of disagreement
We are looking for a (junior) post doctoral researcher who will study emerging practices of political speech and representation in late czarist and early soviet Russia, especially by minoritized groups.
Currently, we seem to observe a rise in the polarization of political opinion, accompanied by a hardening of the tone of political discourse and decreased mutual understanding between different ideological ‘bubbles’. Our project, The Sound of Disagreement: Embodied Histories of Political Speech 1800-present, seeks to historicize this (perceived) recent culture war, and to draw attention to the development and co-existence of different modes of disagreement in the past two centuries.
The team will study how different groups of newcomers to political speech (be they women, ethnic minorities, working class activists or populist representatives) navigated the challenges of making themselves heard without being perceived as excessive or intrusive. We analyse how political actors managed disagreement at a practical level, and how embodied and affective experiences of disagreement were shaped. Members of the team will each contribute expertise and empirical insights from their respective case studies to contribute to an over-arching long-term study of the sonic practices of political debate in Europe.
As our expert on ‘special interest’ representation in turn-of-the-century Russia, you will contribute to the project by studying small-scale debating contexts in (post) imperial Russia, and especially focus on how gendered or ethnicized groups gained political audibility in this period. You will design and develop your own case-study, for example by focusing on particular minoritized groups, or forms of representation, in order to shape your contribution to the project, and combine your independent research with collaborative work on the long-term history of political debate together with your colleagues.
This is what you will do
- Designing and conducting research under the guidance of the project leader, resulting in at least three peer-reviewed academic publications in (inter)national scientific journals and 1 edited volume;
- Organizing expert meetings and a symposium;
- Co-organizing public events dissemination the project’s findings.
This is what we ask of you
- PhD in a relevant field;
- Professional proficiency in English;
- Excellent knowledge of Russian and ability to work with archival material relevant to the case;
- A strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research;
- Good command of a language spoken by a minoritized ethnic community within the Russian Federation is an asset, but not a requirement (case study to be discussed with project leader).
This is what we offer you
- The employment will be for one year. Contingent on a positive performance evaluation the contract will be extended with two years. The preferred starting date is January 2027;
- The opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers in East-European Studies, political history and political culture;
- You will become part of an enthusiastic and professional academic team, embedded in an interdisciplinary scholarly community.
This is where you will be working
You will become part of a team of researchers, led by prof. dr. Josephine Hoegaerts, of the Sound of Disagreement project. The team will consist of two PhD students, 1 post-doctoral researcher, and a scientific board of 6 senior scholars from across Europe. Members of the team will carry out their own independent research, but also collaborate regularly by publishing, organizing workshops, and presenting research at conferences together. In addition to your direct colleagues within the team, you will also join the vibrant community of researchers at ARTES (the Amsterdam School for Regional and Transnational Studies), and enjoy the support of senior scholars at the Department of European Studies.
Are you an experienced researcher with a passion for the intellectual and cultural life of late czarist and early soviet Russia? Would you like to engage in historical research on political speech and representation in a (post) imperial context? In this post-doctoral position you will work in an interdisciplinary team studying changes in the sound of political disagreement over two centuries.
Political speech and the sound of disagreement
We are looking for a (junior) post doctoral researcher who will study emerging practices of political speech and representation in late czarist and early soviet Russia, especially by minoritized groups.
Currently, we seem to observe a rise in the polarization of political opinion, accompanied by a hardening of the tone of political discourse and decreased mutual understanding between different ideological ‘bubbles’. Our project, The Sound of Disagreement: Embodied Histories of Political Speech 1800-present, seeks to historicize this (perceived) recent culture war, and to draw attention to the development and co-existence of different modes of disagreement in the past two centuries.
The team will study how different groups of newcomers to political speech (be they women, ethnic minorities, working class activists or populist representatives) navigated the challenges of making themselves heard without being perceived as excessive or intrusive. We analyse how political actors managed disagreement at a practical level, and how embodied and affective experiences of disagreement were shaped. Members of the team will each contribute expertise and empirical insights from their respective case studies to contribute to an over-arching long-term study of the sonic practices of political debate in Europe.
As our expert on ‘special interest’ representation in turn-of-the-century Russia, you will contribute to the project by studying small-scale debating contexts in (post) imperial Russia, and especially focus on how gendered or ethnicized groups gained political audibility in this period. You will design and develop your own case-study, for example by focusing on particular minoritized groups, or forms of representation, in order to shape your contribution to the project, and combine your independent research with collaborative work on the long-term history of political debate together with your colleagues.
This is what you will do
- Designing and conducting research under the guidance of the project leader, resulting in at least three peer-reviewed academic publications in (inter)national scientific journals and 1 edited volume;
- Organizing expert meetings and a symposium;
- Co-organizing public events dissemination the project’s findings.
This is what we ask of you
- PhD in a relevant field;
- Professional proficiency in English;
- Excellent knowledge of Russian and ability to work with archival material relevant to the case;
- A strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research;
- Good command of a language spoken by a minoritized ethnic community within the Russian Federation is an asset, but not a requirement (case study to be discussed with project leader).
This is what we offer you
- The employment will be for one year. Contingent on a positive performance evaluation the contract will be extended with two years. The preferred starting date is January 2027;
- The opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers in East-European Studies, political history and political culture;
- You will become part of an enthusiastic and professional academic team, embedded in an interdisciplinary scholarly community.
This is where you will be working
You will become part of a team of researchers, led by prof. dr. Josephine Hoegaerts, of the Sound of Disagreement project. The team will consist of two PhD students, 1 post-doctoral researcher, and a scientific board of 6 senior scholars from across Europe. Members of the team will carry out their own independent research, but also collaborate regularly by publishing, organizing workshops, and presenting research at conferences together. In addition to your direct colleagues within the team, you will also join the vibrant community of researchers at ARTES (the Amsterdam School for Regional and Transnational Studies), and enjoy the support of senior scholars at the Department of European Studies.
If you recognize yourself in the profile and are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your application. Please send us your application, consisting of the documents listed below, in one single PDF file.
- A letter of motivation
- A full (academic) CV
- A writing sample (5.000-10.000 words) (preferably a recent publication)
The names and contact details of two referees, including your thesis advisor, who may be approached by the selection committee. You can apply for this position until 30 August 2026.
For questions about the position or department, you can contact us during office hours at:
