PhD position in Social Anthropology

The project, ‘Futuring Heritage: Conservation, Community and Contestation in the Eastern Himalayas’, led by Dr. Erik de Maaker, funded by a grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), is looking for a PhD candidate for research in Sikkim (India). The project is hosted by Leiden University’s Institute of Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology, with Ashoka University in Delhi-NCR as its prime academic partner. The PhD will be jointly supervised by Dr. Erik de Maaker (Leiden) and Dr. Swargajyoti Gohain (Ashoka). The Futuring Heritage project consortium encompasses international organisations, Indian governmental agencies, several NGOs as well as a tourism operator active in the eastern Himalayas.

Futuring Heritage investigates how national and international/ governmental and non-governmental programmes aimed at environmental conservation and climate change adaptation in the eastern Himalayas can align with the cultural expectations of the region’s ethnolinguistic minorities. While such programmes are typically presented as ‘community-led’, they often adopt a condescending stance towards residents’ traditional usages of forests, rivers and mountain slopes, which are cultural practices, rooted in the past. Rural Himalayan livelihoods as well as schemes intended to halt deforestation and sustain biodiversity encompass heritage, either authorised, neglected or unseen. Yet, such activities also anticipate time to come, an intentionality the project innovatively conceptualises as ‘futuring’. This project researches futuring pertaining to usages and perceptions of land, developing new spatial methodologies that integrate satellite imagery with ethnographic sensorial mapping. It explores acts of futuring with reference to spatiality and temporality that reveal how heritage, ontology, indigeneity and governance are essential dimensions of socially and culturally inclusive environmental conservation. To address this issue, the project enables ethnographic research across three sub-projects, all located in the eastern Himalayas of India, and thus sharing the same national context.

This PhD position supports ethnographic research in the Indian state of Sikkim, which is often considered an example of successful community-led environmental conservation. In 2016, Sikkim achieved the status of being the first ‘fully organically producing’ state of India and its Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) became a UNESCO World Heritage site in the mixed category, recognised for both its cultural as well as natural heritage values. This has altered the way stakeholders interact with each other, in line with differences in how they perceive and value the mountain range and the forests covering its slopes. How does the ‘recognised’ and ‘authorised’ worthiness of a place as World Heritage influence the restriction, alteration and initiation of both human and non-human residents’ access to the farmlands and forests surrounding it, and have implications in terms of situated ritual practices and rural livelihood strategies and the heritagised resources these encompass?

What you will do
You will conduct independent ethnographic research in and around Sikkim, defining your research focus within the overall frame of this project and research objectives in collaboration with various consortium members/ stakeholders including UNESCO (World Heritage acknowledgement), Forest Department (Sikkim state government), WWF (wildlife conservation) and regional NGOs and tourism operators.

• You will conduct research, entailing at least 10 months of ethnographic fieldwork.
• Use GIS mapping and QGIS software, combined with visual and digital methods (GIS training will be provided in the context of the project).
• Use visual and digital methods where appropriate.
• Write a PhD thesis, publishing several of its chapters as peer-reviewed journal articles (including a special issue on participatory mapping), and in a project-related edited volume.
• Contribute to a professional publication, the production of educational materials, and to the creation of the project website, blogs, articles for newspapers, podcasts and a policy paper.
• Participate in meetings and proceedings of the project (e.g. reading groups, co-writing initiatives) and the wider activities of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology.
• Co-organise and participate in academic and public events
• You will be part of a team comprising two PhD candidates, the principal investigator, and other consortium members. The other PhD and the PI will conduct research in the eastern Himalayas as well.

Where you will work
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University consists of five institutes: Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Political Science, and Psychology. The faculty has approximately 7000 students and 1000 staff members. Within the institutes, not only education is provided but also groundbreaking research is conducted that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of human behaviour and societal structures. What makes our faculty unique is the diversity of research topics, the various styles of teaching, and the way professional support is organized; this provides you with the opportunity to explore and develop your interests and expertise.

Visit our website for an impression: Welcome to the Leiden Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences - Leiden University.

Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (CADS)
Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology concentrates on 'global vulnerability and social resilience'. The institute has three main themes: diversity, sustainability, and digitalisation. CADS is dedicated to making a real-world impact, not just studying change, but also working with communities to promote positive change through education and research. We use a unique approach that blends qualitative, quantitative, audiovisual, and digital methods based on ethnographic fieldwork.

With our unique blend of interdisciplinary interests, comparative regional studies, and social science research methods, we emphasize our role in the extensive collaborative network within Leiden University. In both our research and education, we engage in extensive interdisciplinary and international networks.

What you bring
Please apply for this position if you have:

• Completed a Master degree in Anthropology, Sociology, Social Geography or any other relevant discipline in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Excellent skills in ethnographic research, as demonstrated by an outstanding Master thesis and/or long research papers.
• Familiarity with India.
• Enthusiasm, passion, and commitment for long-term fieldwork in India
• Native or near native proficiency of Nepali, and/or Lepcha and/or Bhutia.
• Interest in geospatial and multi-modal research methods
• Excellent command of English (speaking and writing)
• Teamwork and organisational skills

If you immediately recognise yourself in this profile, or if do you not quite meet all the requirements, but you believe that this is the right job for you, we look forward to your application!

How can you apply
To apply for this position, please submit:

• A curriculum vitae (CV) (2 pages)
• A motivation letter (2 pages), explaining your background, how you connect to the thematic. of this project, and Sikkim in particular, and why your unique skills qualify you for this research project.
• A preliminary research proposal, explaining how you intend to address the project’s questions (2500 words).
• Names and contact details of two referees.

Deadline: October 1.
Online interviews will be held with shortlisted candidates by mid-October. The starting date is February 1st, 2025.

What we offer
Our goal is to work together to create a transparent and inclusive work environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated. Our organisation is always evolving and we need your ideas for improvement and innovation to take us further. We want to devote attention to your personal development.

You can expect an enjoyable job within the socially relevant world of education and research. The University's challenging and international work environment is located just steps away from Leiden’s lively city centre or the bustling city centre of The Hague. We also want to work with you to devote attention to your health and vitality, for example with the fun activities we organise through Healthy University.

We also offer:

• An employment contract for (38 hours per week) as a PhD candidate, initially for a period of 1 year, with the possibility of extension for 3 years after a positive evaluation. This contract falls under the Collective Labour Agreements (CLA) of Dutch Universities;
• A salary of a minimum of € 2872 and a maximum of € 3670 gross per month, based on a full-time appointment (38 hours) (scale P-0); with increments based on the CLA.
• A holiday allowance (8%), an end-of-year bonus (8,3%), and an attractive pension scheme at ABP;
• Flexible working hours: as a standard, you are entitled to a minimum of 29 leave days on the basis of a full-time working week of 38 hours; you can also save for extra leave, for example by working 40 hours a week, and in this way accrue an extra 96 leave hours, or exchange 96 leave hours for a 36-hour week.
• Lots of options when it comes to secondary employment conditions; we can, for example, discuss options for a sabbatical or paid parental leave. Within our terms of employment individual choices model, you can exchange leave days and/or salary for benefits such as an advantageous sports subscription or bicycle scheme, and we also offer child-care options;
• If your work allows it, hybrid working is possible within the Netherlands;
• A home-working allowance (day and internet allowance) and attention for good workplaces. The University will also provide you with a laptop and a mobile telephone (if applicable for the position).

For more information about employment conditions, see https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/werken-bij/sollicitatieprocedure-en-arbeidsvoorwaarden

What we find important
Promoting an inclusive community is central to Leiden University’s values and vision. Leiden University aims to be an inclusive community in which all students and staff members feel valued and respected, and are able to develop to their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High-quality education and research means inclusive education and research.

Want to apply or find out more?
If you want to apply straight away, click the application button.

If you would like more information about what the job entails, please contact: Dr. Erik de Maaker, Associate Professor at maaker@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

You can apply until October 1st, applications will be processed immediately.

To help us get to know each other better, we follow a number of steps in the application procedure. For more information, see https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/werken-bij/sollicitatieprocedure-en-arbeidsvoorwaarden

• A pre-employment screening (references, diplomas, certificate of good conduct (VOG) may be part of the selection procedure.
• Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated. If you nevertheless choose to send us CVs, no rights can be derived from this. #LI-Hybrid