Dear List,
A colleague asked me to circulate this announcement of an interesting and unusual Ph.D. opportunity. Feel free to forward to anyone who might be interested.
Regards,
Ani Patel
Tufts University
Ps For those who don’t know about drum languages, I discuss them briefly in this paper:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7196/full/453726a.html
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PhD position on the grammar of Senegalese drum languages (1,0 fte)
Job description:
We are looking for an excellent candidate for a PhD position in a research project on Senegalese drum languages. Candidates should be able to carry out outstanding fieldwork with Senegalese musicians, and do theoretical linguistic work on the relation between
grammar and music in drum language.
Deadline for applications: 21 May 2017.
The project is funded by NWO by way of a Free Competition project awarded to the principal investigator Prof. Y. Winter. It is the first extensive linguistic and experimental study of the drum languages used by Senegalese musicians.
This PhD project aims to develop a linguistic theory of Senegalese drum language. It follows previous work done by the PI (Winter, Y., Language 90, 2014). Candidates are expected to have an excellent background in theoretical linguistics or another relevant
discipline. In addition, candidates should be able and prepared to carry out fieldwork in Senegal for a period of six months.
The tasks for the PhD candidate will include:
- Carrying out fieldwork among Wolof speaking musicians in Senegal
- Embedding the results within a coherent theory of drum languages, informed by recent advances in theoretical linguistics and cognitive science
- Presenting results at workshops and conferences, and publishing them as peer-reviewed articles in international journals
- Taking part in documenting Senegalese drumming traditions
- Participation in selected training programme scheduled for the research Institute, graduate School and the National research School
- Teaching undergraduate courses as part of the PhD training
- Completing and defending a PhD thesis within four years
For more details on this research project, see
http://www.phil.uu.nl/~yoad/sabar.html
Requirements:
- A (soon to be completed) research Master’s degree in linguistics or another relevant sub-discipline of Cognitive Science. Excellent candidates with a background in Computer Science or Mathematics may also be considered;
- Excellent proficiency in spoken and written English;
- An outstanding record of work in the Master's degree;
- Interest in fieldwork research, and readiness to live in Senegal for over a period of six months as part of the project;
- Excellent communicational skills and ability to work in a heterogeneous team;
- Fluency in Wolof or French, or a proven ability to quickly master foreign languages is a strong advantage;
- Proven musical experience is a strong advantage.
Offer
Internship: The selected candidate will be required to undergo a training period of three months as an employed research assistant in the project, prior to definitive selection for the PhD position. Positive evaluation in this training, including the candidate’s
ability to do successful fieldwork, will be a pre-condition for the selected candidate to be offered the PhD position. The research assistant position will start on October 1, 2017 at the latest.
PhD position: The PhD position will be offered at 1,0 FTE, starting on January 1, 2018 at the latest, initially for a period of 15 months. Upon good performance and a positive evaluation, the contract will be extended for the remaining period of 33 months (4
years in total). The gross monthly salary starts at €2,191.- in the first year, and ends at €2,801.- in the fourth year, on a fulltime basis.
Utrecht University offers a pension scheme, a holiday allowance of 8% per year, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% and flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities.
About the organisation
Researchers at UiL OTS are distributed across 6 research groups, focusing on the following range of linguistic subdomains: Language Variation, Language, Logic and Information, Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition, Language Processing and Language Pathology,
Language and Education, Language and Communication. It comprises approximately 20 full professors, a dozen postdocs and roughly 40 PhD students.
The Department of Language, Literature and Communication offers BA and MA programmes in literary studies, linguistics, communication studies, translation, as well as Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and (uniquely in the Netherlands) Celtic languages.
The Faculty of Humanities has approximately seven thousand students and nine hundred staff members. It comprises four Research Institutes: The Institute of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Institute of History and Art History, Institute of Cultural Inquiry
(ICON), and the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS (UiL OTS). With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic
and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city centre of Utrecht, where the Faculty is housed, contribute to an inspiring working environment.
Utrecht University
A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of
Youth, Institutions, Life Sciences and Sustainability.
Additional information
For more details on this research project, see
http://www.phil.uu.nl/~yoad/sabar.html
For further information, please feel free to contact Prof. Yoad Winter (for his email address see
http://www.phil.uu.nl/~yoad) or the research coordinator at UiL OTS (Dr. Maaike Schoorlemmer:
mailto:m.schoorlemmer@xxxxx).
Applications
More information about application procedures and terms of employment will appear in due course at the website of the Utrecht University:
https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/working-at-utrecht-university/jobs
Your application should include digital copies of:
- application form - to be downloaded from
http://www.phil.uu.nl/~yoad/sabar/form.html
- CV including full personal and academic details;
- Certified copies of relevant diplomas and grade transcripts;
- Master’s thesis (or a draft thereof), and any other publication you can provide;
- Names and full contact details of two academic referees.
The application deadline is 21 May 2017.
Interviews, in person or otherwise, of selected applicants will be held during the week starting June 19, 2017.