PhD in Film Studies: Cinema’s Mediterranean Connections, Archives, Flows and Southern Epistemologies (V25.0197)

Fully-funded PhD position in Film Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen (start date: October 2025). The project will be supervised by Dr. Sergio Rigoletto, Dr. Giuseppe Fidotta, and Dr. Miklos Kiss. All members of the supervising team are part of the Film and Contemporary Audiovisual Media theme group within the Research Center for Arts in Society (AiS) of the University of Groningen. Dr. Rigoletto and Dr. Fidotta will be daily supervisors of the project, while Dr. Kiss will act as promoter. The candidate will be affiliated with the Arts, Culture and Media program as well as the Groningen Research Center for the Study of Culture (ICOG) and the Graduate School for the Humanities (GSH).

The PhD Project
From the camera operators of the Lumière Brothers’ film company traveling to Cairo and Jerusalem at the end of the 19th century, to the international networks of anticolonial solidarity that brought together European and North African filmmakers and film critics during the Algerian War of Independence, to the creation of transnational film programs such as EUROMED, cinema’s orientation towards the Mediterranean reveals a network of cross-border collaborations and filmmaking practices. “Cinema’s Mediterranean Connections” illuminates a constellation of transnational relations, journeys, and infrastructures that have shaped the history of cinema from its origins to the present. This constellation directs our attention to how ideas, labor, and resources move—or struggle to move—from South to North and East to West. By bringing into focus a set of formations and dynamics shaped by the histories of European colonialism and their aftermath, the constellation that this project seeks to map has the potential to reveal what the study of national cinema and a global cinema perspective may either obscure or neglect: a regional focus attuned to transnational lines of connection, commonality and conflict and to an understanding of cinema as a dynamic assemblage shaped by power differentials and an uneven distribution of resources.

While this project outlines a broad conceptual and historical framework, prospective PhD candidates are encouraged to develop their own working title, case studies, research questions, and thematic focuses within this larger scope. We welcome proposals that engage critically with the movement of films, filmmakers, and film cultures across the Mediterranean, addressing topics such as the role of film archives in shaping historical memory, the relationship between cinema, migration and displacement, the circulation of independent and activist filmmaking, the emergence and development of specific regional aesthetics, epistemologies, and infrastructures. Applicants may approach these or other themes through a variety of methodologies—including archival research, ethnography, industry analysis, and close readings of film texts—depending on the specific contours of their proposed projects.

Period of funding
1.0 FTE, 4 years

Organisation
Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 34,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city of Groningen. It has more than 5000 students and 700 staff members, who are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies.

• A Research Master's or MA degree in Film and Media Studies or a cognate field.
• Excellent academic writing skills in English.
• Proficiency in at least one language relevant to the project.
• Strong theoretical background in Global South, Postcolonial or Decolonial Studies.
• Proficiency in research methodologies relevant to the project such as archival research, ethnography, production and industry studies.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an international research environment.

In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you

• A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position.
• A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income.
• An 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance.
• A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether employment will be continued.
• The PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 FTE teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of their appointment.
• Excellent work-life balance.
• Willingness to move and reside in the Netherlands.

The appointment will commence on 1 October 2025. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.

Applications should be made in English and contain the following materials

• A 1,500-2,000-word-outline of your own research proposal in the wider frame of this project.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Copies of Masters’ diploma and list of grades.
• Copy of Masters’ thesis.
• If available, a copy of one article, book chapter or other academic text that you feel best represents your work.
• Contact details of two academic referees (no letters of recommendation are needed for the application process).
• In case your ReMA/MA degree is not in English/Dutch, please include a language certificate.

You may apply for this position until 30 April 11:59pm / before 1 May 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

Interviews with selected candidates will be held between 25 May to 30 May 2025.

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

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