We are looking for talented students who wish to design their own PhD research project on an interdisciplinary topic within the scope of the research expertise of Young Academy Groningen members (please visit http://www.rug.nl/research/young-academy). Three PhD Scholarship positions are available to conduct research within one of the four project themes listed below. As a PhD scholarship student, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisor(s). You will conduct independent and original academic research and report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD thesis. The PhD thesis has to be completed within four years. Being part of a cutting-edge research programme, you will receive research training as well as a varied educational training program including transferable skills and future (academic or non-academic) career training for after the PhD trajectory, in the context of our Career Perspective Series.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the supervisors mentioned for each project for further details and clarifications on the research project and on the application process.

Project 1. Structural Discrimination in International Human Rights: Peoples’ Perceptions & Institutions’ Interpretations

Supervisors: Dr Marijke Leliveld (Management - Faculty of Economics and Business) and Prof. Panos Merkouris (Transboundary Legal Studies - Faculty of Law)

Structural discrimination is everywhere. Whether it be the police failing to properly investigate a racially-motivated crime or where de facto segregation occurs in local schools, a country (State) may be liable under International Human Rights (IHR) law. Likewise, the failure of States to intervene can constitute a violation, such as inaction towards combatting workplace discrimination. Due to its covert nature, injured parties may not even perceive themselves to be victims of structural discrimination. Where potential victims are either unaware of IHR courts or, worse, do not trust in the decisions of these courts, then the IHR system’s legal efficacy is brought into question. Moreover, the average (wo)man evaluates, experiences, and observes legal rules from a more intuitive, moral perspective, which could greatly impact their trust of IHR courts.

There is currently a large gap in academic research connected to the legitimacy of IHR courts/bodies in addressing structural discrimination, both in their approach and in peoples’ perceptions of the efficacy of these institutions. This project seeks to remedy this gap. Traditionally, theories on discrimination focused on negative attitudes towards specific demographics. However, contemporary literature focuses instead on the effects of societal structures where, regardless of intention, the policies, (in)actions, or cultural attitudes of a State disproportionately disadvantage a specific demographic. Yet, in practice, IHR courts and the public alike have struggled to articulate this concept and have approached it in a wildly inconsistent manner; whether it be enforcing the return of indigenous land, questioning how to combat situations where structural discrimination has always existed, or avoiding the topic altogether.

Similarly, from the public’s perspective, one-third of surveyed Roma people were unaware of any discrimination laws and only 12% of discrimination-instances were reported to the authorities. This is troubling considering the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) racial discrimination cases have almost exclusively focused on the Roma. When trust in these institutions is lacking due to a perceived inefficacy, society will not benefit and may even be harmed by the IHR regime, despite these good intentions.

This project is inherently an interdisciplinary one. The causes of structural discrimination are multifaceted & complex, from socioeconomic status to quality healthcare, which both IHR courts and the public struggle to grasp, define, and properly respond to. There is a clear need for a comprehensive work to tie these themes together. When broaching the issue of the legitimacy of IHR courts in regard to structural discrimination, this question cannot be answered without utilising an interdisciplinary approach. Recently, scholars have suggested that law and public perception share a symbiotic relationship, where one cannot be effective without the other. This is also reflected in the methodological approach to this project. Experiments are commonly used throughout the social sciences, but their newfound importance in the legal field is solidifying. Together with these social experiments, the cases of IHR courts will be analyzed taking a comparative, quantitative and qualitative approach.

This project aims to enhance the public’s understanding of structural discrimination in their day-to-day lives. These insights could prove invaluable for IHR practitioners, NGOs, etc., by dissecting how trust is fundamental in the functioning of IHR courts; thus, underlining the inseparability of social psychology and law.

Project 2. The Transnational Politics of Latin in the Digital Age

Supervisors: Dr. Bettina Reitz-Joosse (Latin Language and Literature - Faculty of Arts) and Dr. Julia Costa Lopez (International Relations - Faculty of Arts)

What does it mean to use Latin in the 21st century? Latin has long ceased to be spoken as a native language, it is no longer the shared language of European scholars and intellectuals, and even its role within the Catholic church is now comparatively minor. This means that using Latin now represents a particular choice, a choice which can be meaningful and significant. The messages which the use of Latin can convey can be extremely varied: for example, Latin is able to convey a sense of general intellectual authority (as in legal or medical discourse), to create an aura of mystery, or to underline a claim to a supposedly prestigious western intellectual heritage. Latin can also suggest military might or imperial ambitions through its evocation of the Roman empire, or create a link to mythical medieval societies among extreme-right groups (e.g. the use of crusader motto ‘Deus Vult’ by white supremacists in the US).

In this project, we aim to investigate the use of the Latin language in current online political discourse: for example, the use of well-known Latin phrases like sic semper tyrannis as hashtags or in social media posts. Why are large numbers of people using a ‘dead’ language when discussing politics online? What ideas about tradition, class, race, religion or power does their choice of Latin convey? How do such ideas travel: transnationally, between political orientations, between media? And what does this tell us about how contemporary political discourse operates? The novelty of this project lies: (1) in focusing on Latin itself as a communicative tool and symbol in modern political speech; (2) in the inclusion of the kinds of political discourse that are not often taken seriously or studied by scholars, but which we now know to be crucial in spreading (potentially extreme) political ideas (e.g. internet fora, Facebook or Twitter posts); (3) in offering a new approach towards understanding the transnational circulation of political discourse and its importance for group identity through the systematic examination of the use of Latin - a language not exclusively associated with any specific country.

The PhD candidate will design a project which combines a global analysis of this large-scale phenomenon with in-depth interpretation of individual instances. Given that this is a project aiming to break new ground on an underexplored phenomenon, the selected PhD candidate will have significant room to define the relevant approaches to the topic based on their interests and expertise. Potentially relevant angles on this topic include, but are not limited to: reception studies, politics of memory, political discourse in social media, far-right politics, construction of transnational identities or the circulation of political ideas. Applicants are encouraged to check the project website for some examples of Latin phrases used on social media: https://usesoflatin.wordpress.com/

Project 3. Can you hear the shape of the Universe?

Supervisors: Dr. Marcello Seri (Bernoulli Institute, Faculty of Science and Engineering) and Prof. Rien van de Weygaert (Kapteyn Institute, Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Can we hear the shape of a drum? Mathematicians asked this question half a century ago and, even though 20 years later they could construct a counterexample, their search paved the road for a deep and largely still open investigation. This led to the discovery that features of a classical system leave a detectable trace in its quantum mechanical counterpart, which is now the core of quantum chaos. But if we cannot hear the shape of a drum, how can we expect to hear the shape of the universe? And what do we mean by that? Cosmic topology is a research field in cosmology that has recently regained traction as a result of several unexplained anomalies of the standard ΛCDM cosmology. In this model, at large scales, our universe looks spatially flat and possesses a trivial topology, but already in 1900 Schwarzschild pointed out that the geometry of the three-dimensional space might be non-Euclidean and that there is the possibility of spaces with nontrivial topology. Following the first cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements, a few studies looked into the possibility of nontrivial topologies to explain some of the anomalies. Although the measurements of recent space missions have failed to detect significant circles in the sky, providing strong constraints on possible nontrivial topologies, there remain a range of unexplained anomalies. Amongst others, the unexpected deviations on the predictions at low multipoles, at large superhorizon scales, have spawned multiple ideas on detecting signatures of different topologies in the CMB presenting nontrivialities that are absent in the standard ΛCDM cosmology: the available data is compatible with compact topologies of homogeneous isotropic geometries of constant curvature.

In addition to such anomalies, the issue of the large cold spot in the CMB has never been properly explained and recent studies are finding puzzling results with respect to other cosmological aspects. These involve new considerations on the value of Hubble's constant and recent doubts on the supernova-induced inference of dark energy. These, on their own, provide an incentive to investigate alternative descriptions, for example by looking at the nontriviality of the cosmic topology. The aim of this project is to identify classical structures that could provide a novel description for the issues delineated above by extending the application of semiclassical ideas from quantum chaos to study the structure of the CMB in different models and comparing it with the available data. Relabeling probability amplitudes in quantum mechanics into metric perturbations and temperature fluctuations of the cosmological model, effectively translates the problem into the analysis of a Laplacian. This "sound spectrum" of the universe (not to be confused with acoustic oscillations determining small-scale CMB fluctuations) would then be constrained by the topology and the large-scale structure of the universe. In this way, ideas developed in quantum chaos can be reformulated to investigate the CMB radiation. If we assume that the universe is finite, the eigenvalue asymptotics would uniquely determine volume and geometry of the Universe–modulo knowing the eigenvalues of Helmholtz’ equation for Laplacians on the appropriate geometry.

Quantum chaos is a mathematical discipline, connecting geometry, dynamical systems and functional analysis, that until now has almost exclusively focussed on the mathematics of classical-quantum duality on nonrelativistic systems. So as far away from cosmology as it could be. In parallel, cosmic topology is a branch of astrophysics that studies the fundamental structure of the universe needed to explain the fine details of the cosmic microwave background. Even if it may seem a purely theoretical exercise at first, this is backed by large scale experimental data obtained with the COBE, WMAP and Planck space missions.

This project stands at the crossroads of these two disciplines and communities, which have historically stood far apart. This synergy could lead to new and interesting cross-pollination of ideas: for a successful development there must necessarily be a deep cooperation between cosmologists and mathematicians.

Cosmology will be crucial to inform which geometries are more reasonable to consider and to understand the implications of the mathematical results and their compatibility with the experimental data. In parallel, we will need to develop the mathematical methods necessary to study such geometries and understand them, as well as the numerical methods needed to test them against the cosmological data.

Project 4. A PhD Project that crosses the disciplines of two Young Academy Groningen members

If you have your own project idea that you would like to submit that is not mentioned above, please contact YAG members to discuss your ideas and the possibilities of submitting a joint proposal. (Note: This cross-disciplinary project must list at least two supervisors, of whom two are Young Academy Groningen members).

Qualifications of the PhD candidate are outlined for each project.

Project 1: Structural Discrimination in International Human Rights: Peoples’ Perceptions & Institutions’ Interpretations

The ideal candidate would need to have several if not all of the following qualities:

• a background in human rights and public international law, with an understanding of the foundations of international law (sources, law of treaties and state responsibility). An understanding of the complexities of international dispute settlement would also be appreciated (e.g. an LLM in Public International Law and/or International Human Rights)
• a clear affinity with social psychology, behavioral economics, or consumer behavior (e.g., elective courses in these fields, a minor, etc.)
• knowledge of and expertise in running empirical legal studies (e.g. experimental design, analysing datasets) would be highly preferred
• excellent written/spoken English.

Alternatively, a candidate with a MSc (or Research MSc) in social psychology/consumer behaviour/behavioural economics, and an LLB in international law (or similar) could also be considered.
Project 2: The Transnational Politics of Latin in the Digital Age

The ideal candidate will have:

● a background in either social sciences (e.g. international relations, political science, media studies) or humanities (e.g. classics, history, modern literature), as well as an affinity for the respective other
● at least a basic knowledge of Latin
● very good reading knowledge of at least two modern languages besides English
● excellent written/spoken English
● knowledge of and/or interest in the digital humanities.

Project 3: Can you hear the shape of the Universe?

We look for a candidate that has familiarity with relativity and basic cosmology and that is fluent in at least one of analysis, dynamical systems or differential geometry. The candidate should have excellent written/spoken English and enjoy both the theoretical aspects of the work and getting their hands dirty with simulations and comparing their results with real-world data.

A partial knowledge of quantum chaos or cosmic topology is welcome but not required. Similarly, a master in theoretical physics, mathematical physics or astrophysics is particularly suitable but we only require a master in mathematics, physics, astrophysics or astronomy.

Project 4: A PhD Project that crosses the disciplines of two Young Academy Groningen members
You are ambitious, highly motivated and wish to make a career in research. You have thorough training in research skills, speak and write English fluently, and have considerable experience in the project area being proposed (ideally at Masters level)

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

The positions are offered within the UG PhD Scholarship Programme. This programme is issued by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW) within the framework of the national PhD Scholarship Experiment. PhD scholarship students receive a scholarship (stipend) of € 2,249 per month (gross) from the University of Groningen for a period of four years. PhD scholarship students are not employed by the university. PhD scholarship students have therefore different rights, obligations, and a different income than employed PhD candidates. Please consider the terms and conditions of the PhD Scholarship Programme on the following website: https://www.rug.nl/education/phd-programmes/phd-scholarship-programme/conditions-application/

Starting date: September 2022

Deadline to apply: 1 May 2022

Young Academy Groningen

The University of Groningen is a comprehensive research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.

The Young Academy Groningen (YAG), established in 2016, is an organization that brings together the most enthusiastic, positive and ambitious young researchers from diverse academic backgrounds. Our aim is to support the development of interdisciplinary research initiatives. To facilitate this, each year we have three PhD Scholarship positions available to help foster interdisciplinary collaborations amongst YAG members.