Postdoc Position "Methodological and Ethical Aspects of Research on Digital Geographies"

Do you have experience researching everyday processes of digitalization, illicit economies and/or urban inequalities, ideally in Amsterdam or Rio de Janeiro? Are you interested in publishing on the methodological and ethical issues involved in such research? Please consider applying for the postdoc position within the research project “Digital Geographies of Urban Drug Markets”, funded by a NWO Open Competition L grant. The preferred starting date is May 1, 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter, and the position will be embedded in the UvA geography department’s Urban Geographies programme group.

Postdoc Position “Methodological and Ethical Aspects of Research on Digital Geographies of Urban Illicit Economies”
In cities across the world, drug sales are starting to resemble other forms of ultrafast delivery, as drug dealers turn to mobile, app-based communication and city-wide home delivery to expand their markets and evade the police. The everyday activities associated with illicit urban economies, and drug markets in particular, are often held to have a strong territorial basis, with supply and consumption concentrated in specific, often marginalized areas. As illicit transactions increasingly involve digital technologies, it is precisely these socio-spatial patterns that have shifted, with profound consequences for the risks experienced by drug dealers and by people who use drugs. This project studies such shifts, focusing on micro-transactions in illicit drugs to understand the everyday digital geographies of the illicit urban economy.

The postdoc in this project will develop, and publish on, a cross-cultural methods toolkit and an ethical framework for data collection, management, analysis and dissemination, to be applied, assessed and finetuned by PhD researchers during their fieldwork. Drawing on previous experience working on this topic, the postdoc will address the following questions: What interdisciplinary methods are currently used to research digitalization and illicit economic activities? Through which new combinations of online/offline methods (e.g. digital methods, ethnography, spatial methods and cultural analysis) can the illicit urban economy be researched? What novel forms of data representation are offered by this methodological synthesis? What ethical considerations must be taken on board in research on digitalization of illicit economic activities? What dilemmas related to the collection, management, analysis and dissemination of urban/digital data on illicit economies may emerge, and how can risks to participants and researchers be mitigated throughout the research process?

What are you going to do

• developing a methodological toolkit and ethical framework, drawing on literature review and consultations with methods experts across disciplines;
• publishing (single-authored and/or co-authored) articles on the methodological and ethical aspects of research on digitalization and illicit economic activities in cities;
• participating in team meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities.

What do you have to offer

• PhD degree in human geography, anthropology, urban studies, media studies or other relevant area;
• Relevant fieldwork experience: ideally, ethnographic research on everyday processes of digitalization, illicit economies, and/or urban inequalities;
• Demonstrated engagement with methodological and/or ethical aspects of research;
• Excellent written and spoken English; some knowledge of one or more languages relevant to the research locations (Dutch for Amsterdam and Portuguese for Rio de Janeiro) is a plus;
• Independent work attitude and ability and interest to work collaboratively; willingness to work within the framework of, and contribute to, a larger team project and existing research design.

If this vacancy speaks to you, but you are uncertain whether you might be THE person we are looking for, please do apply. We strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates, and specifically from people with backgrounds underrepresented in academia. In light of the department’s and the PI’s commitment to diversity, we aim to create a team of researchers who each contribute to the project in their own way – our objective is complementarity rather than homogeneity.

What else do we offer
The position concerns (temporary) employment for a maximum term of two years. This position is for parttime employment (0.8 FTE); there is the possibility to complement the 0.8 FTE research position with 0.1-0.2 FTE teaching, depending on experience and budget.

At this department you will be working
Within the Urban Geographies group, you will be working in a position in which initiative and input are highly valued, within an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues, and in an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.

Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application by March 1, 2025. Applications should be submitted online as a single pdf and should include:

1. a letter of motivation (max. 500 words);
2. a full CV;
3. a research statement (max. 1,000 words) outlining the candidate’s own vision on methods and ethics in relation to this project, and including ideas on methodological innovation and on themes that could form the basis for articles;
4. a writing sample (preferably a published academic paper).

A first round of interviews will be held online on March 10 or soon thereafter. For questions please contact Rivke Jaffe at r.k.jaffe@uva.nl.

30.4 - 38 hours per week

Nieuwe Achtergracht 166