PhD on Queer Asylum Seekers

The department of Interdisciplinary Social Science has a job opening for a PhD candidate. Within this project you will carry out activities like ethnographic research, writing articles and writing your dissertation. The PhD project is supervised by Dr Gigengack and Dr Driel.

Your job
Asylum seekers who apply for asylum based on their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI-based asylum (Danisi et al., 2021)) in the Netherlands may experience that they need to prove their sexual orientation and/or gender identity to the Immigration and Naturalisation Services (IND) to legitimise their claim to asylum. Paradoxically, queer asylum seekers have often left their countries of origin to escape marginalisation and sometimes even prosecution based on these very identities. This project investigates the complexities related to needing to prove a long-time hidden and fluid sexual orientation or gender identity as if it were a fixed category. It employs the concept of performativity to explore how queer asylum seekers navigate the expectations embedded in bureaucratic procedures related to queerness to receive protection from the Dutch state. The project proposes an innovative ethnographic study from within the Dutch asylum system that responds to the important societal crisis related to the vulnerability of queer asylum seekers in the Netherlands, illustrated by recent news about high risk and occurrence of suicide among and violence against this group (see, e.g., LGBT Asylum Support, 2023). It also aims to contribute to discussions about performativity and bureaucracy through investigating how categories produced through bureaucratic processes can become powerful tools of repression and control (Akin, 2017; Andersson, 2014; Khosravi, 2018; Wissink, 2020).

We are looking for someone with:

• a Master's degree in anthropology or another relevant social science (such as queer studies, migration studies);
• experience with qualitative research, preferably participant observation and other ethnographic methods.

Ideally, you also have the following:

• affiliation with and a network of the target group of queer asylum seekers;
• access to relevant institutions such as asylum centres;
• first-hand knowledge of the asylum-seeking process;
• knowledge of English and Amharic.

We offer:

• a position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU);
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow. For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

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The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 7,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 1,100 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues. The faculty is located at Utrecht Science Park near the historical city centre of Utrecht.

As Utrecht University, we want to be a home for everyone. We value staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including cultural, religious or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish and contribute.

To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation, via the ‘apply’ button.

The first round of interviews takes place in the third week of January. An assessment is part of the procedure. Our preferred start date is 1 February 2024.