100%, 01.04.2025

The University of Basel, Switzerland, invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher (100% FTE) for the project Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA)

The function of a blank sheet of A4 paper in a context of censorship reflects the need to recognize new forms of defiance. As speech is being monitored through different technologies and in a range of arenas from the public square to social media and across university campuses, defiance takes new forms of symbolic critique. In the project "Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA)", recognizing defiance contributes to the aim of conceptualizing aspirational urbanism as a way of understanding the function of alterity (alternative futures, speculative possibilities) in shaping cities. Rather than explaining urban change in Hong Kong and Taipei exclusively in terms of tiger economics or the developmentalist state, beyond techno-positivism and growth machine dogmas, ASPIRA recognizes defiance as the agency of urban residents in contesting perceived inevitabilities. The project builds on theoretical work on urban futures, understanding cities as sites for planning, imagining and representing futures. It also recognizes the unequal capacities and risks involved, highlighting the "cruel" ascriptions to optimism and the potentially devastating consequences of aspiration. ASPIRA’s approach identifying defiance by centering on visual analysis grounds aspirational urbanism, rescaling the object of urban theory towards everyday micro-practices.

Your position

• Work as full-time postdoctoral researcher for the Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grant project Aspirational Urbanism and the Recodification of Defiance (ASPIRA), led by Prof. Dr. Julie Ren
• Collaborate and conduct research within team (with PI and PhD) and independently

• Present research at international conferences; co-organize project symposia and final exhibition
• Co-author and single author peer-reviewed publications

Your profile

• PhD with an urban studies focus in urban or cultural geography/ anthropology/ sociology, media studies, gender studies or a related field
• Regional expertise conducting research in Hong Kong and/or Taipei
• Qualitative research experience employing archival, visual, digital and/or creative methods
• Strong analytical skills and record of high-quality publication output
• Languages: Fluency in both spoken and written Mandarin and English (ideally also Cantonese)

We offer you

• 4-year 100% postdoctoral researcher position with Swiss salary to begin on 1 April 2025, hosted by the Urban Studies unit in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland
• Research travel and conference budget
• If desired, teaching and lecturing experience
• Collaborative, small team committed to your career development with a healthy work-life balance
• Fully equipped workplace in the center of Basel near the university campus

• CV with publication list
• Max. 2-page cover letter detailing:

• Max. 500-word elaboration of one research method you would use for this project
• One exemplary publication that showcases your strengths
• An electronic copy of your PhD certificate