3 PhD positions and 1 postdoc (all for 4 years, 1 FTE) are available in the project Microcontact. Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective, starting in June 2017 or soon after at Utrecht University.
The three PhD projects are:
PhD1 – Person-driven auxiliaries and differential object marking in contact
PhD2 – Deixis in contact: pronouns, determiners, adjectives and adverbs
PhD3 – Subject clitics in contact
Tasks for the three PhD candidates will include:
completion and defence of a PhD thesis within four years;
carrying out fieldwork in one of the countries listed above, in agreement with the Supervisor and Division of Labour within the team;
regular presentation of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
publication of at least two peer-reviewed articles in established international journals;
co-organisation of workshops and conferences;
participation in all training programmes and expert meetings scheduled for the project;
participation in selected training programmes scheduled for the Research Institute, Graduate School and the National Research School.
Qualifications Requirements for the three PhD candidates will include:
a (soon to be completed) (research) Master’s degree in linguistics or Romance linguistics, with a focus on generative syntax;
excellent English oral proficiency, academic writing and presentation skills;
fluency in one or more of the contact languages of the project: French, Spanish, Portuguese;
knowledge of at least one of the following Italian regional languages: Abruzzese or Neapolitan; Piedmontese; Salentino or Sicilian; Veneto;
an outstanding record of work in the Master's degree;
ability to meet deadlines and work both as an independent researcher and as part of a team;
ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary team;
excellent organizational, social and communication skills.
Fieldwork experience and/or knowledge of Italian are a plus.
The postdoc project is entitled
Auxiliaries, differential object marking, deixis and subject clitics in diachrony
Tasks for the post-doctoral researcher will include:
carrying out data-mining and research on ancient Romance texts;
work in archives, mostly in Italy and in the Netherlands but also in America, if needed;
setup of a small database of diachronic Romance texts complementing the interactive atlas for synchronic data;
publication of at least two peer-reviewed articles per year in established international journals;
co-editing of a volume;
co-authoring of a monograph with the PI;
co-organization of workshops and conferences;
co-supervision with the PI of the PhD students;
regular presentation of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
participation in all training programmes and expert meetings scheduled for the project;
Qualifications Requirements for the Postdoc will include:
a (soon to be completed) PhD in Romance diachronic generative syntax or diachronic syntax of a Romance language;
extensive knowledge of generative Romance diachronic syntax;
an outstanding publication record;
excellent English oral proficiency, academic writing and presentation skills;
fluency in one or more of the contact languages of the project: French, Spanish, Portuguese;
proven ability to work in team and to supervise junior scholars;
ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary team;
excellent organizational, social and communication skills.
Fieldwork experience and/or knowledge of Italian are a plus.
The full job description and application form, together with the instructions on how to apply, can be found here (3 PhD candidates 'Microcontact: Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective'(1.0 FTE each) and Postdoctoral researcher 'Microcontact: Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective' (1.0 FTE).