Political speech and the sound of disagreement
We are looking for an ambitious PhD student who will study the practice of political speech and the articulation of protest by Nordic labour unions in the 20th century.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, 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 junior expert on welfare state politics and protest in 20th century Nordic history, you will contribute to the project by studying how union leaders, representatives and activists have made their mark on political debate and its mediatization from ca. 1930 – 1970 in the case of one of the Nordic nations (Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden). You will be free to develop your own case-study in order to shape your contribution to the project (in consultation with the other team members), 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 be doing
- Submission of a PhD thesis within the period of appointment;
- Presenting intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
- Participation in the Research School and Faculty of Humanities PhD training programmes;
- (Co-)teaching courses at BA-level in the second and third year of the appointment (maximum 0,2 fte per year);
- Participating in meetings of the project research group and collaborating toward shared research.
This is what we ask of you
- A completed Master's degree in History, European Studies, Media Studies, Nordic Studies, Scandinavian languages or another relevant discipline;
- A high level of academic curiosity, and excellent research skills demonstrated by a Master thesis;
- Fluency in the language relevant to your case study (i.e. Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish, depending on your choice of national context);
- Professional proficiency in English;
- Solid knowledge of historical and archival research;
- A strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research.
Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.
This is what we offer you
- We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The preferred starting date is 1 January 2027;
- Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €3.059 in the first year to €3.881 (scale P) in the last year. This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD candidate applicable. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable;
- PhD candidates receive a tuition fee waiver;
- PhD candidates have free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of Humanities and the Dutch National Research Schools;
- 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 interested in how the tone of political debate has changed? Would you like to engage in historical research into the sound and mediatization of protest and social movements in the Nordics, and develop your skills as an independent researcher? In this PhD 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 an ambitious PhD student who will study the practice of political speech and the articulation of protest by Nordic labour unions in the 20th century.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, 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 junior expert on welfare state politics and protest in 20th century Nordic history, you will contribute to the project by studying how union leaders, representatives and activists have made their mark on political debate and its mediatization from ca. 1930 – 1970 in the case of one of the Nordic nations (Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden). You will be free to develop your own case-study in order to shape your contribution to the project (in consultation with the other team members), 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 be doing
- Submission of a PhD thesis within the period of appointment;
- Presenting intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
- Participation in the Research School and Faculty of Humanities PhD training programmes;
- (Co-)teaching courses at BA-level in the second and third year of the appointment (maximum 0,2 fte per year);
- Participating in meetings of the project research group and collaborating toward shared research.
This is what we ask of you
- A completed Master's degree in History, European Studies, Media Studies, Nordic Studies, Scandinavian languages or another relevant discipline;
- A high level of academic curiosity, and excellent research skills demonstrated by a Master thesis;
- Fluency in the language relevant to your case study (i.e. Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish, depending on your choice of national context);
- Professional proficiency in English;
- Solid knowledge of historical and archival research;
- A strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research.
Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.
This is what we offer you
- We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The preferred starting date is 1 January 2027;
- Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €3.059 in the first year to €3.881 (scale P) in the last year. This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD candidate applicable. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable;
- PhD candidates receive a tuition fee waiver;
- PhD candidates have free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of Humanities and the Dutch National Research Schools;
- 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 an excerpt from your MA thesis)
The names and contact details of two referees, including your thesis advisor, who may be approached by the selection committee.
The vacancy closes on 20-8-2026. The first round of interviews will take place around mid-September.
For questions about the position or department, you can contact us during office hours at:
