Doctoraatsbursaal DigiDisc: digitale buurten van jongeren in de context van alledaagse discriminatie (100%)

About the role

You will conduct a PhD in line with the objectives and activities of the BOF-project DigiDisc: Towards a multidimensional understanding of the digital neighborhood within the context of everyday discrimination. The DigiDisc project aims to gain insight into how digital media practices are intertwined with the daily lives of young people from ethnic-racial minority groups. Central to this is the concept of the “digital neighborhood,” referring to how online and offline environments together shape the socio-cultural experiences of young people. The project will approach this concept from the framework of everyday discrimination, focusing on subtle and systemic forms of inequality experienced by young people based on their ethnic-racial, gender, and socio-economic backgrounds.

We are seeking PhD candidates who, from an intersectional lens, wish to investigate how everyday discrimination manifests in both the offline and online environments of young people from ethnic-racial minority groups. The doctoral researcher will conduct a mixed-methods study, consisting of ethnographic fieldwork and a longitudinal survey, with the goal of developing a well-founded and interdisciplinary framework for understanding everyday discrimination in the digital neighborhoods of young people.

Your team

The Research Group on Digitalization, Diversity, and Democracy (R4D, School of Social Sciences) is looking for a doctoral researcher to investigate how everyday discrimination manifests in the online and offline environments of young people from ethnic-racial minority groups. As a doctoral researcher, you will be appointed within the R4D research group and contribute to the BOF-project DigiDisc. R4D is a research group at Hasselt University (UHasselt) and is part of the School of Social Sciences. In its interdisciplinary research, R4D focuses on three central societal challenges and their interplay: digitalization, diversity, and democracy, along with related themes.

Requirements

• You hold a master’s degree in the field of social sciences, such as communication sciences, sociology, anthropology, or gender & diversity (or equivalent). Final-year students are also encouraged to apply.
• You have demonstrable knowledge of research and theories related to digital media, youth culture, and ethnic or intersectional (in)equalities.
• You have experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
• You value the depth of ethnographic research, are motivated to actively engage in it, and are not deterred by the challenges associated with ethnographic fieldwork.
• You have the ability to work independently and proactively, ensuring timely and thorough completion of research tasks.
• You possess the necessary sensitivity and reflexivity to conduct research with young people and on themes such as inequality and discrimination.
• You are fluent in Dutch, which is a requirement for the research.
• You have strong writing and communication skills in English.
• You have achieved strong academic performance in your bachelor’s and master’s programs or have equivalent relevant research experience.

Benefits

• You will be appointed and compensated as a doctoral researcher.
• A full-time PhD position, initially for 2 years, extendable to a total of 4 years. Contract extension depends on a positive evaluation by the doctoral committee.
• Support to develop research-oriented skills through (for example) the UHasselt Doctoral School of Behavioral Sciences and Humanities.
• Integration into the Research Group on Digitalization, Diversity, and Democracy (R4D, School of Social Sciences), which regularly organizes internal lectures, reading groups, and support sessions for PhD candidates.
• Support for participation in international and national academic conferences and publication of your work in scientific journals.
• You will collaborate with supervisors Prof. Tom De Leyn and Prof. Dounia Bourabain.